New Girl in Town
by melniewn
Summary: When a new girl move in next to Bender who has more family problems than he does, see what happens.  Rating for language, violence, drug use, and sex - Bender x OOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the original BC character and I make no money off the fiction.

This story is fairly different from the other stories I've written - it is primarily Bender and a new character. I hope you like it anyway.

Shermer, Illinois was a far cry from London or Paris. Not that Laura Ashford really minded the change of scenery – she was kind of happy to be back in the US. That said, she was not happy with her living situation. What kind of fucked up life left a fifteen year old a junior in high school with a mother who died of a drug overdose not a month ago. She was left with a father she remembered hating, and now she knew why. He was an abusive, drunken asshole. She had no memory of the incident which caused her mother to run away from her father; she was even unaware that he was the reason she was forced to use a cane and had since she was six or seven and why she had continuous back problems.

Her life, the one recently stolen from her, had been filled with tutors and luxurious apartments, shopping sprees, and free reign to do pretty much what she wanted. Her mother was rarely around in the last year or so, not that she'd ever been around much. Laura remembered the birthdays of her nanny's better than her own parents. She looked around the room she was presently in; she'd been dropped off here by child protective services a couple of hours ago. She'd been here for a while when she was nine or ten, and she wondered if there was still a cute boy who lived next door?

Her luggage took up most of the room; otherwise there was a mattress and box spring on the floor without sheets on it, a scuffed dresser and nothing else. The walls were stained with age and the room had a musty smell, but then she thought so does the whole dump. Laura dug out her cigarettes, a bad habit she knew – but it kept her nerves calm better than all the drugs her mother's therapists and chiropractors had tried to dump down her throat over the years. What the hell am I going to do…. She looked around the small dingy house while trying to stay out of her father's sight. 'Father? Really, maybe I should just call him Mike, that what I've always thought of him as.' But he terrified her for reasons she couldn't really put her finger on. She was supposed to register and start high school tomorrow, over the past month she'd been shuttled between orphanages in London, to an "uncle" who was more like her mother's old boyfriend, to a grandparent's house she didn't know she had – and who didn't want her – but at least between them she was tested for getting into school. Laura wasn't really sure what grade she was supposed to be in, but she did think she was somehow accelerated.

She stepped on to the bed and pushed the window up. Her room sat at the far side of the ranch house, and sitting down on the window sill Laura realized she had a very nice way to get in and out of the house without going through the living room, where mike was inevitably sitting watching TV, drinking and smoking. As she was thinking about checking out the yard she heard a crash and the shout of her name.

"Laura! Where the fuck are you? I'm fucking hungry." A deep, surly voice hollered from the rest of the house.

She took pride in the fact that she'd only jumped a little. It only took a few seconds for her to pull the window down till it was only slightly open, and move as quickly as her nerves and limp would let her towards the kitchen. "I'm coming Dad." She figured he'd be less pissed off if he knew she was indeed on her way. I wonder what's here to eat, Laura thought. I don't know how to cook much, but maybe I can whip something up. With that thought in mind she picked up her step a little, arriving to the kitchen where Mike was sitting at the table drinking another beer, there was a mess of ceramic on the floor as though several plates had been broken.

"What happened?" Laura asked, standing in the doorway.

"I broke a fucking plate, what's it look like dumbass? Gonna stand there looking stupid or are you gonna fucking clean it up and cook something?" He asked as though she were the most ignorant person on earth.

Laura, having learned from years of being the focus of her mother's drunken bouts that she had to move quickly and smile about it or it could turn ugly quick. She swiftly scanned the kitchen and saw the broom on the other side of the room, on the other side of the glass. "Fuck it" she thought, and walked barefoot over to the broom; she started to sweep the kitchen, never looking at Mike or speaking to him. When that was done she started opening the cupboards, the fridge and the freezer. She found the components for spaghetti.

The meal was quickly and silently prepared. When she sat down to eat she asked, "Will someone give me a ride to school tomorrow?"

"Your feet fucking broken?" was Mike's only reply.

"You want me to walk? Isn't it like a mile from here?" Laura asked, looking confused.

"So? I have to go to work." The conversation was over, Laura realized there was no one else, no one, her and Mike. She was used to her Mother's boyfriends, a maid, sometimes even a limo driver if her mom was feeling generous.

After dinner Laura returned to her bedroom. She did some unpacking, then climbed out of her window and sat down, Indian style, on the ground beneath to smoke a cigarette. It was dark, but the house next door had lights on, in fact the bedroom right across from hers lit up and a guy with long dark hair walked in.

Laura smoked her cigarette and smiled, "Damn he's hot."

Slowly Laura became aware of the yelling happening at the house next door to hers. It scared her, but she knew she hadn't been there long enough to understand the situation she was really in. All she knew was so far it sucked. Laura lit another cigarette and set it down on the ground, she dug around in the army surplus jacket her mother hated and pulled out her stash. It was the best painkiller she'd ever found for her constantly aching back and leg. She packed a small bowl, and took a deep hit. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a minute, clenching the small bowl in her hand.

She was startled by the sound of a window opening. The hot boy was leaning out of it, staring at her.

"Hello," Laura said softly, picking up her forgotten cigarette and relighting it; she left the bowl discreetly in her lap.

"Hey. You're new here."

Laura bit back her initial reaction of "thank you captain obvious" and simply said, "My name's Laura."

"You got another one of those?" John asked, pointing at her cigarette and he expertly climbed out of his own window.

Laura passed him her pack; after he took a deep hit off of the cigarette he passed her back the pack and said, "John."

John sat down next to her and asked, "So, did I imagine that bowl you hit just a few minutes ago?"

Laura was startled; she didn't think she'd been seen. "I guess I need to be more discreet," she said and handed the bowl to him. When the bowl was finished they started talking; the first topic was music he liked metal; she liked everything. They talked about everything, from music to her time in Europe which impressed him though he'd never let her know that.

After smoking a second bowl and spending a while talking there was a bellow from inside Laura's house. "Where the fuck are you, ya fuckin bitch! The kitchen is a god damn mess!"

"Shit, I gotta go." Laura leaned over and kissed John on the cheek, and climbed back into the window with a grin from ear to ear. Even Mike's yelling couldn't ruin her mood, she'd made a friend.

The next morning she started at Shermer High, and she hated it. Every minute of every hour she was there felt like a special hell created just for high school students. First, the hours sucked. Second, Shermer had to be the cliquiest place she'd ever been… and having met people in a variety of cliquey fields that was saying something. Laura had always made friends easily, but here she felt out of place… she knew she sounded kind of European when she got very nervous and everything about this place made her nervous, but she'd been living mostly in England for almost half her life..Here she stuck out like a sour thumb. The fact that she required a cane apparently made her a target for ridicule, as did her style. Her accent was considered cool, but it apparently didn't make up for the things students saw as detractions.

First, apparently the "cool kids" didn't wear blue jeans and t-shirts, at least the cool girls didn't. Mostly they looked like a mockery of Stepford wives. And Laura wanted nothing to do with that, a sheep she most definitely was not. There were nerds of course, and while she could happily talk physics, but most of the guys looked like they might drool on her if she got too close. The girls from every corner gave her dirty looks. At lunch time she went and sat outside, determined not to let these people make her cry.

On Friday she ditched the cafeteria and sat on the grass near the bleachers with her knees pulled up tight, and her head on them. She was tired, and this was the first time in days there wasn't someone yelling, lecturing, or being an ass. She'd not seen her neighbor John since Sunday night.

Laura just couldn't face people today; last night had been the worst yet with Mike. He was there when she got home from school, and apparently she hadn't walked fast enough – when she informed him in an irritated fashion, "well it's not like I get a ride anywhere, I walked home; sue me for not being faster." He smacked her, now it's not like her mom hadn't ever done that, but Mike was so much stronger that Laura smashed into the wall. When she slid down he kicked her in the stomach and said, "don't ever fucking talk to me like that you little cunt. I didn't fucking ask for you and will do what I say, when I say. Do you hear me?"

Still trying to catch her breath, Laura didn't answer fast enough – Mike grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up the wall – "I asked if you heard me bitch." He screamed in her face.

"Yes sir." That was apparently the right answer, since he dropped her. Mike stepped over her, got himself a beer out of the fridge and walked away. Laura got up and hobbled to her room, she sobbed for what felt like hours, till finally she fell asleep. Today her back ached like a bitch and so far nothing had helped, that plus her general exhaustion made the day and the other students especially trying.

Hearing the bell ring for the next class made no difference; she just couldn't do it today. A few minutes later she heard footsteps and looking up a little saw a pair of black boots, further a long coat and as she finally looked all the way up saw her neighbor, John. "Bum me a smoke?"

She pulled the pack out of her purse and tossed them to him, and put her head back down. John plopped himself down beside her, "I ain't seen you all week – where ya been?"

Laura sighed, "In classes or taking care of an asshole, uh I mean my father."

John chuckled mirthlessly, "I've heard him hollering a few times, he sounds like my old man."

He offered her a cigarette from her own pack, which made her chuckle. But she took it. Lighting it she noticed him staring at her, as though he were trying to figure something out. "He do that?"

Laura stiffened and took a shaky hit off her cigarette, "what do you mean?"

John stared at her for a minute and said nothing, just staring. Then he said, "I'm not an idiot, and neither, I thought, were you. That would mean you know exactly what I'm talking about sweets."

Laura looked away from him, opened her bag, pulled out a compact, opened it, checked her face, and proceeded to put more powder foundation on especially over the area with the bruise. When she finished, she started to get up, then turned back to John, "Can I buy some of what I shared on Sunday from anyone around here?" With an upturned eyebrow she handed him two twenties and a ten. She stood up and wiped off her jeans, picked up her bag and said, "I'll share with my neighbor…. And thanks."

Weeks dragged on and Laura marked the days as Xs on the calendar – she'd moved in March 24 and now it was the beginning of May. Her birthday was a few weeks away, but she hadn't mentioned it and she was sure Mike had no idea when it was. There was a sick kind of routine to her days, school and the accompanying busy work they were given, and then there was home. Laura laughed to herself, "no, and then there is Mike's house" where Laura cooked any meal that was prepared, cleaned up after Mike, cleaned the house though it never really felt clean. She tried and failed to stay out of Mike's way – he was getting more violent, and lately he had been….touching her. He would slam her into the wall and run his hands over his chest and make threats. "One of these days girly, I'm gonna make you really take that whore's place." He said the most awful things about her mother, "yeah for a coke head she was a pretty good cock-sucker, wonder if she taught you any of her tricks" Laura was becoming a nervous wreck.

She continued to buy pot from John… but the store of money left over from her mother's gifts and farewell gifts was dwindling fast; she'd had to give some of it to Mike. He didn't believe she didn't have any money and started to search her room so she gave him all that wasn't well hidden. But it was enough to make her money disappear too quickly, and while she had a bank account, she didn't know how to access it. Lydia, her mother, had always done it for her.

The John would occasionally meet her between their two rooms, either climbing out his own window or showing up late at night. She knew John had something of a girlfriend; the Monday after he met her by the bleachers he'd searched her out, not really knowing why he was doing it, but he thought maybe she'd get along with Claire, if she did it would give him multiple benefits. Claire wouldn't worry about the bitches in her clique so much and he'd have someone cool to talk metal with, besides Laura was pretty hot and having additional hot chicks around, especially who smoked, drank, and smoked pot was a bonus in John Bender's book.

He didn't know what it was about her. Ok, yeah she was hot, but he had to stop thinking about that, he had a girlfriend, and Claire would be pissed if she found out he thought Laura had a smoking body. Not to mention she was cool, not all prissy and uptight like Claire, not all moody and weird like Allison, and not a whore like most of the chicks his friends knew. So after seeing her face bruised and her moving like she was hurt he figured her old man must be more like his than he realized. John decided he should introduce to the other members of the Breakfast club. Maybe she could hook up with Brian or something, the geek certainly needed to get laid; it might help the crush he had on Claire that made him was to shove the little fucker in a locker sometimes. Course Claire thought it was fuckin' cute and encouraged the fucker to do shit like open doors for her and then expected John to behave the same way.

It was a slightly rocky start, but Laura fit in with the other members of the breakfast club pretty well. She could tolerate Brian's talking for a little longer than most of the rest of them, and while she didn't talk to Andy, or Sporto, as John solely referred to him the rest seemed pretty cool. Claire was a little less stepford then she'd first judged her to be. They were a strange little group, but she felt a little less alone.

The school year started winding down, Claire had won Prom Queen, she was so popular that even dating Bender didn't put a dent in her popularity. Her friends all saw it as a phase Claire would get over soon enough. Sporto graduated, and while Bender had improved his standing at school since the breakfast club started, he didn't have quite enough credits to graduate. He'd been thinking about quitting and getting a full time job anyway, but the rest of the club nagged him till he agreed to take that final year. He was pissed off because fucking Vernon had to be at the fucking registration table when he came up. John wanted to punch the sonofabitch in the mouth. Laura was just a little behind John and Claire in the registration line, and while being appalled at the vice principal's behavior towards a student she found she simply couldn't hold her tongue listening to him denigrate John. So she cut ahead in line just to comment, getting registered was simply a by-product of her need to say a thing or two to the obnoxious administrator.

"Why Mr. Vernon I was unaware it was appropriate for a principal to act like a complete jackass towards a student who is in the process of getting an education. Is this something American? I'm fairly certain in Europe that any administrator would be bounced out on their ass so fast it would make their head spin should a community board member find out, but perhaps that just something else I'll miss." Laura's typically mild accent became very clipped, although she didn't appear to be more than mildly interested.

"Do you have something to say for this delinquent, Miss Ashford?" Vernon turned to face Laura directly focusing his anger towards her.

Laura made a great show of looking all around her, "I don't see any delinquents Mr. Vernon. Perhaps you ought to have your eyes, or was it your principles, checked." She neither flinched nor looked away from Vernon, continuing to stare at him with a look of mild distaste on her face.

"You better watch it missy, I'll be keeping my eye on you," Vernon stated ominously, but walked away quickly as though he realized he'd been caught doing something inappropriate. John finished filling out the requisite forms as Laura and Vernon were having their interchange, he and Claire moved to the side of the line watching the interaction. Claire with a look of mild surprise, not that someone was sassing Vernon John had gotten her very used to that, but that Laura sounded both so smart and so English. John just had on his trademark smirk, he knew what a fire cracker Laura could be, but he wasn't used to people standing up for him. Sure Claire and the rest of the Breakfast club would in the right circumstances, but probably not so… handily.

Laura didn't acknowledge she saw Claire and John until she finished filling out her registration for the following year. She walked over, a little hesitantly, since she was not entirely sure Claire didn't hate her most of the time. "Hi, I wasn't expecting to see anyone I knew here today. I thought you were both out of here this year."

Claire smiled and squeezed John's hand. "I still need to make up a few classes I failed to get out of here legit, and you've been almost as big a nag about it as Claire – what do you mean you didn't know."

"How was I to know you'd listen to any of us? You just barely follow the directions of your lady. I simply assumed the rest of us had less sway." Laura noted with a cheeky grin. Her smile faded some as she looked at her schedule for the fall.

Claire noticed her smile fade and grabbed the schedule from her, "what's wrong with your schedule, do you have to take a bunch of classes you hate?" She was surprised to note that Laura only had a half day worth of classes with study halls filling in the rest of her day. "How do you only have to take a half day's worth of classes?" She asked Laura as they were walking outside, as soon as they were outside of the school doors, Laura pulled out a cigarette, lit it and took a deep drag, blowing it out before answering.

"When I was staying with my uncle in England, we flew to New York for a week so I could take a million tests. Some aptitude shit, some math, economics, I think I took a college entrance exam or something, but they said I was stupid bloody smart and I got pushed in as a Junior with only a handful of requites left" Laura shrugged.

"Why didn't you just start as a senior then?" Claire asked.

John had been wondering when this was going to come up, as far as he knew he was the only person who knew how old she was.

Laura shrugged the question off and looked at her watch, "I am so not going home at this hour. I don't want to be a third wheel so I guess I'll see you two when I see you." Laura started to walk away, but John grabbed her jacket and pulled her back.

"You aren't going to be a third wheel, is she cherry?" Claire was trying not to be pissed at the question and at John's insistence at having the girl around.

"Well I thought we were going to spend the afternoon together…." Claire was trying to give the hint that she really didn't want to hang out with Laura all afternoon. If it was Allison and Andy, or even Brian it would be different, but Laura wasn't a real member of their club and she was having some trouble accepting her still.

"See John that was a hint. I know how well you understand subtle so I thought I would point it out." Laura said with a smirk of her own before pulling her Jacket away from John's grip and starting to walk towards the football field.

"What the fuck Claire? I didn't realize we had plans to be alone this afternoon. Are you finally planning to give it up to me and I somehow missed the memo? I figured we'd get something to eat and maybe hang out."

"Don't be a pig. I just wanted some time with you to myself. It seems like she's always around you anymore." Claire said a bit petulantly.

"Jesus fuckin Christ, it's not like I'm banging her Claire. What's your issue?" John said making no attempt to keep the irritation out of his voice as they walked to Claire's BMW. The whole issue irrationally pissed him off; he decided to put it on the back burner cause he really didn't want to spend the afternoon fighting with Claire. They only had a few more weeks before Claire left for Europe, then she'd be off to college in Philadelphia… fuck, he really did like Claire when she wasn't being a conceited bitch.

The weeks flew by and before either of them knew it, Claire was leaving the next morning. He thought about buying her something, as a going away present, but decided he hadn't turned into that much of a girl. Claire knew him, why should he change. Hell he was standing at her front door in clean clothes, he still wasn't sure why he was attending this family dinner, her parents were certainly no joy to be around. Sure they were filthy fucking rich, but that didn't mean they were happy. It only took one evening of listening to them fight from Claire's room to realize this – not that it in anyway was like his situation, or that of Laura, or even Allison, but it sucked in its own way.

After a dinner where her mom polished off almost two bottles of wine before starting a fight with Claire's Dad the two of them escaped to Claire's room. She said she had to finish packing and wanted to spend some time with John before it got too late. As they arrived in her frilly pink bedroom John noticed a mountain of luggage. "What else could you possibly have to pack?"

Claire tried to glare at him, but ended up chuckling. "Nothing really, I just have to make sure my outfit for tomorrow is pressed." She smiled softly at John, staring at him.

"Do I have something on my face?" John asked, uncomfortable with her examination of him.

"No, just memorizing your face. You know everything is going to be different from now on." She said softly.

"Yeah, an ocean does shit like that. Then you leave for school, hell are you even unpacking this mountain of shit before you leave for school?"

Claire had moved to sit on her bed, she patted the place next to her in a silent request for John to join her. "That's part of why I've needed to talk to you." She picked at her bedspread and looked around her room with a worried look on her face.

John's patience was beginning to wear thin when she spoke. "See… the thing is… my mom rearranged my trip schedule… and well… I mean… like…" She sighed, "I'm not coming back here before school. All my stuff is being shipped right to school from France." Once she said it she thought she might have the courage to get through this next part. Stalling for time she reached for John's hand and started tracing his knuckles, she took a deep breath and said, "I don't think it's a good idea for us to keep seeing each other since I'm going to be so far away, and it's really not fair to you."

A flurry of emotions passed through his eyes: surprise, confusion, ever so briefly hurt, and finally anger. "It won't be fair to me? Seriously Claire, you really expect me to believe this is fucking altruistic?"

Claire got up and turned away, she didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes. "do you even know what that word means?" It was so much easier to banter with him than deal with any of the emotions she was feeling.

"Yeah, it means you want the opportunity to be free from a bum like me to fuck French guys, or is it the new frat guys who will be your next fucking conquest?" John got up to reach for his coat.

Claire grabbed his arm, "John, please I don't want this to end badly. I really just don't think this," she pointed between the two of them, "will work over a long distance or a long time. You know I am right too." She crossed her arms around herself and just looked sad.

"Maybe you're right cherry, but you know, maybe you're not… and now you'll never know. It's been alright, you know… better than either of us could have expected. But unless you are gonna let me get rid of that pesky nickname you hate so much, I am not gonna stick around and cry with you." John pulled on his jacket. He walked over and kissed her with as much passion as he ever had. "Have a great time Claire, have a terrific life. Fuck, you know I really mean that too, right?" With that John walked out of her room, down the huge spiral stair case and directly out the door. He didn't like her fucking parents enough to say goodbye, and now that he wasn't her boyfriend any more, he didn' t have to.

It was many hours later before John, slightly drunk and very stoned, arrived back at his place. He walked around to the side of the house as quietly as he could and heard a noise from the back yard. Feeling just a little paranoid he pulled out, and flicked open his knife… "Someone there?"

From halfway up the old tree in his back yard he heard a muffled, "fuck," and a grunt of pain. Following the sound John walked quietly up to the tree, scanning for the intruder. As he got closer he realized it was Laura, she was sitting about half way up in the crook of the tree. It was a place he knew easily how to get to, since when he'd been a kid it had been a refuge for him. As quietly as possible he made his way up to the branches Laura had tucked herself into. "Little late to be climbing trees ain't it?"

Laura shook her hair into her face and muttered, "sorry, I'll take off."

John grabbed her wrist, holding her there and brushed her hair out of her face. What he saw enraged him, her beautiful face was a riot of bruises. She had two black eyes, both of which were swelling pretty good – so well in fact he wasn't sure she would be able to see if they swelled more. Rather than scan for more bruises. He asked, "your old man?"

Laura shrugged and went to move out of crook when she realized her left eye had swollen shut, and the right was very blurry; she sighed and growled quietly, "fuck, fuck fuck. John, I can't see real well right now, can you help me down?"

"Sure, uh put your arms around my neck." She did this and he realized he'd still need to hold on to her. "Ok, that's not gonna work right. I'm gonna straddle the tree limb and get real close, wrap your arms around my neck, and your legs around my waist." He heard her chuckle and realized her voice didn't sound right as she quietly commented, "do I at least get dinner out of the deal?" He smirked into the darkness, "yeah, but it'll be on you princess. Just fucking do as I ask if you want out of the tree." He saw a nod and got into position in front of her. As he stood up, with her wrapped around him several things came to his mind at once; first, she smelled really fucking good; second, she was tiny – weighing less than Claire by ten or fifteen pounds. "Hold on tight." Was all he said before he swung across and then down several branches of the tree. When he landed on the ground she was holding on tight, but had her head on his shoulder and he could feel it getting wet, like she was crying or something.

"You ok?"

"Uh sorry" she started to unwind herself, but he stopped her by wrapping his arms around her. "Nothin to be sorry for sweets, your eyes were probably fine when you climbed up." He sat down in a big old chair at the back of the yard and stroked her hair the way he had Claire's when she was upset. "So, now that I've gotten you safely to the ground I want something from you." Laura sat up, still in his lap and since he'd chosen to sit in an old Adirondack chair she'd have some work getting away, she pulled out a packed bowl and handed it to him. In a very quiet voice she asked, "or did you mean something else?" It took a minute before he understood that she thought he wanted sex. "The smoke is great; but relax, I just want to fucking talk to you." He lit the bowl, and passed it back to her. "Oh, um, alright, what do you want to talk about?" Her accent had grown pretty thick in the last few seconds. "What happened? I know your old man is a prick, but I ain't seen him beat you like this before." She shook her head and leaned back into him, putting her forehead against his shoulder, "I'd really rather not talk about it." He stroked her hair, "I figure, but you're fucking gonna cause I ain't letting you go till you do."

Laura sighed, and relaxed into Bender's warmth deciding she didn't give a fuck that his perfect little girlfriend would have a goddamned fit about it. Her head fit beneath his chin, "you can finish the bowl, I smoked two while up in the tree, normally takes the pain away, but it's just making me sleepy now. Um, fuck, honestly…" she hid her face against his moaned, mumbled something then turned her head. "Come on Princess, so I can hear you." She growled in that cute way of hers and said, "I refused to give him head."

Bender exploded with a, "What the fuck!" Laura put her hand over his mouth and whispered, "keep your bloody fucking voice down! I escaped; hell I fought with him then I escaped. I just…I just don't want to go back there, but I've little other choice I suppose."

Bender was bristling with rage, he'd heard shit like this happened, but he'd never known someone it happened to. "Don't you have relatives and shit?"

Laura nodded, "none of them wanted anything to do with me, and most of them called my mother worse than Mike does. I'm just afraid I'm not gonna be quick enough one of these days." She put her head down on Bender's shoulder. "If you reach into my coat pocket, I've a bag in there. Pack another bowl? I can't bloody see well enough to do it myself. John caught a glimpse of her knuckles which were bruised and bloody. "Have you even had a chance to wash up?"

"What and take off my clothes while he was awake? I don't think so. I don't know what time it is, but I hope he's passed out." Laura muttered the last part. John reached into her coat, found her stash, and packed a bowl, all while wishing there was something he could do for her.

They smoked and sat quietly with Laura curled up in John's lap. He thought she might have fallen asleep after a while; when he heard a very quiet, "Thank you John." He was a little confused, "for what princess?"

"Saving me tonight I guess, being my friend, I don't know. You make me feel safe somehow, so thank you. I should let you get some sleep, the sun is going to be up soon." John shook his head, "you have a fucked up idea of safe if I make you feel that way, and sun up is still several hours away. Anyway, I should thank you. You have provided a serious distraction from my not so serious problems."

Laura shifted a little and realized both of her eyes were almost swollen shut. She decided to tackle that problem in a minute, "feel like distracting me with your not so serious problems, then I'll tell you the problem I'm presently having?" He chuckled and pulled her back into him, "you're keeping me warm stay put for now. And, well, um I'm single again. Fucking Claire decided it'd be no good to keep me attached to her while she spent her summer in France since she's not even coming back to Shermer before going off to college. I want to call her a fucking bitch, but I guess she was doing me a favor. Now, what problem are you having presently?"

Laura was feeling pleasantly drowsy from the smoke and John's warmth so she snuggled into him a little and mumbled, "both my eyes are swollen shut, and I mostly can't see." John was also feeling pretty sleepy, "yeah, that's a problem – if you just stay here and keep me warm you don't have to worry about it for a while." She nuzzled him, "I can do that." Sunrise found the two of them in the depths of John's backyard; Laura snuggled into John's lap, his arms wrapped around her keeping her safe. He woke up first, the sun in his eyes. He briefly wondered where the fuck he was, and then the night came back to him. He pulled his shades out of his jacket pocket, slid them on, and went back to sleep thinking to himself, 'it's way too fucking early, and I am not waking this girl up.'

Somewhere around mid-day, the sun high overhead, Laura began to stir. She tried to open her eyes and the attempt hurt enough that she whimpered. She tried to sit up and moaned, John opened his eyes, "What's the problem, besides the fucking sun anyway?" Laura whimpered a little, and with a thicker than usual accent said, "I hurt from head to toe and cannot seem to open my eyes, what I can see through slits is quite blurred."

"You do look like you lost a boxing match; your old man got a job?" Laura nodded, "theoretically, he leaves the house each day from about 8 to 6, so I suppose so, not that I've a clue what he does."

"Then he should be gone, which is good, cause it looks like my old man is home. You got a key?" She nodded and fished into the pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out and said, "I'm not sure I can get to the front door though." John responded, "gimme the key and let me worry about it." Completely unsure why she trusted this boy so much she handed him the key and put her head on his shoulder. He moved forward in the chair and stood up with her in his arms. "Christ doesn't that guy feed you, you don't weigh as much as my fucking bench press." She didn't think he required an answer and she was working on neither whimpering nor moaning as he walked around to the front of her house. John unlocked the door and pushed it open with his foot, the place smelled remarkably similar to his own place, stale beer and cigarettes most prominently. Without putting her down he walked towards the hallway and where he assumed her room was from the window she regularly climbed out of.

The room itself was a little like an oasis compared to the rest of the house. First, it was quite neat. There were no clothes on the floor, the walls were covered in cloth tapestries and the room smelled like incense or something. When he kicked the door shut behind them, he set her on her feet. The dresser had been painted black and all the handles were blue, there was a mirror on top of it where she could see her face. What she saw through her blurred vision made her gasp. "Fucking bloody hell, some goddamned birthday present." She sat down on the bed, which was made up with another tapestry on top of it. Strangely the room also seemed cooler than the rest of the place had. What he found strangest was how comfortable he felt both with this girl and in her room. He'd always wanted to escape the rooms of girls he was with, Claire's made him cringe with all her pink and frills. "When was your birthday?"

Laura had shed her coat; John noticed the blouse she was wearing was ripped and he could see bruises across her back and it looked like down her ribs too. She was leaning into the mirror, touching the swelling around her eyes. "Yesterday, happy bloody sweet sixteen Laura. I did get a couple of cards, snagged and hid them before Mike got home." She walked over to her closet, opened it, and pulled out what looked like a sundress. John knew she used a cane, but he thought it was something English, now that he saw her moving around her room he noticed her very distinct limp. "I didn't know, Happy Birthday, I guess."

Laura half smiled at him and shrugged, "You saved me from sleeping in, or falling out of your tree last night. It was a lovely present. I'm still pretty exhausted, and well, if you want to stay you are welcome. I'm jumping in the shower, and I'll be back. Pack us up a bowl, there's a larger one in the box within the bedside table." He watched her limp away. He kicked off his boots, shed his jacket and stretched out on her bed. It wasn't bad, more comfortable than his own really. He rolled over and pulled open the drawer she'd mentioned, there were two boxes in side, he opened the first one to find it full of jewelry. Obviously that was not the one she meant so he opened the second box. Inside were two gorgeous glass bowls, he pulled out the larger of the two and packed it; he set it on the table and stretched out on the bed. He thought to himself, 'what the fuck am I doing here?'

Within 10 minutes Laura came back in the room wearing the dress she'd pulled out of her closet. The bruises covering her face, arms and what he could see of her body only slightly detracted from how gorgeous she looked in the dress. In one hand she had a gel pack, and in the other a bottle of something. He noticed a ring of bruises around her neck, and it looked like he had punched almost every inch of her. "I gotta say two things: first, your old man is a real bastard, and second, you look smoking in that dress." One might have thought it would be hard to tell, but Laura's pale skin turned bright red as she blushed. "Thank you, and I completely agree. I hate to ask more of you, but um, I have this stuff that's supposed to help bruises heal faster, um, would you put it on me? And um, if it's not too much trouble would you stay with me for a while longer? If you've something to do, I completely understand, but um, I would really owe you one, not that I don't already…" John interrupted her, "stop fucking babbling, and come here. I don't mind staying I did mention my old man is home and I would just as soon not run into him." Laura sat on the bed next to John and pulled the straps off her shoulders. She tried not to feel completely self conscious as she bared herself to him. John discovered he was right, her whole back was mottled with bruises. He covered her in the cream, even making her lift her arms so he could cover her ribs. He ran his hand over her stomach and she shivered. "I uh think I got it all. You ok?" Laura pulled the dress back up and climbed over John to stretch out on the bed, "yeah, I'm good. If you need to leave and don't want to go through the house, the window here works great." John stretched out next to her and propped his head up on his arm, "want to smoke what I packed?" she nodded, "I just don't want to sit up any more."

John gave her a lascivious smirk, "there are ways to get around that you know." Laura said, "then show me one, I trust you." The second remark made him hesitate a little, but he took a long, deep toke and leaned down to kiss her, she opened her mouth at the feeling of his tongue and she proceeded to shotgun most of the bowl from John. Afterwards he leaned in and kissed her she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back with an intensity he hadn't expected. When they separated, mostly from the need to breathe he asked, "what was all that?" She chuckled, "sorry, I've had kind of a crush on you for a while, didn't you ever wonder why your girl didn't want me around?" John shook his head, "I just figured she was being a stuck up bitch." Laura laughed, "she actually cornered me one day and told me to stay away from you." John laid his head down next to her, "well I guess it's her loss now, ain't it." Laura remarked tiredly, "I guess it is. So you'll stay, for a little while anyway?" John put his hand on her belly and got comfortable next to her, stroking her ever so gently with his thumb, "for a while sure." She put the frozen gel pack on as an eye mask, and while John laughed at her he did agree it would probably work to take the swelling down. It took less than fifteen minutes before they were both sound asleep.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any BC character or make money from it.

Note: There is some pretty graphic material in this chapter - but I hope you like what's here in my second installment.

When Laura woke up she was alone and it was after three in the afternoon. She slid the eye mask off and was pleased to find the swelling had indeed gone down significantly. A part of her wondered if the whole episode with John was just a dream; however, if it was but a dream she was pleased enough with it that she had warm butterflies in her belly. She stood up and realized the episode with her father certainly hadn't been a dream. She hurt everywhere. She pulled on some socks, wandered into the rest of the house, and found it filthy. She knew she'd be tempting another beating if she didn't do something about it. For the next 90 minutes she didn't stop moving, the kitchen was cleaned, the living room was picked up and vacuumed, and she put a roast, she'd picked up the other day, in the oven for supper. She scrubbed the bathroom down and searched for some painkillers, finding none she retreated to her room, lit incense, and smoked a bowl, then picked up her room a little and started some laundry. It was a nice day outside so she opened a bunch of windows and the front door hoping to air the place out some. She grabbed a book out of her room and went outside to read it. The tree she was leaning against wasn't exactly comfortable, but then nothing was and she couldn't risk leaving before Mike got home. When he did, she'd walk up to the store for some Tylenol.

At 6:30, which was considerably later than usual, Mike pulled in the driveway. He saw Laura reading a book and saw the bruises all over her body. He sat in his car and realized what an asshole he was. After she'd taken off the night before, or if he was honest with himself, escaped him, his mother called. He'd told her about Lydia bumping herself off when he heard and told her he was getting his daughter back. Since then she called regularly hoping to see the girl; last night's call had been a wake up for him. She mentioned that it had been the Laura's birthday. Unlike all his buddies kids, she'd never said a word and not only did he forget he turned his drunken rage upon her 'cause he was horny. He couldn't help but notice she was smoking hot even all beat up, but he'd decided he needed to get back on the wagon for a while. CPS had come around once since she'd been there, and it was likely they'd be back, it would really suck if he fucked up cause if they saw her like this and he was afraid he'd get sent back to jail.

He didn't think Laura knew he'd been to jail at all, and so for the first time in over two years he went to an AA meeting. It had kept him clean and sober for almost five years before he hooked up with a bitch named Samantha. That was all in the past, he was gonna try being a decent guy to his daughter. He remembered when she was born; he and Lydia had been really happy for a while, but then the drugs got to be more important than anything else, well that and Lydia missed her socialite lifestyle. During one particularly brutal fight between them Lydia went at him with a bat, well the bitch had never been very strong so he yanked it from her, wound up for a swing and instead managed to hit Laura. He'd been swinging hard enough that he pretty much demolished the middle of her leg knee and all, it threw her – she was so small back then – into a bookshelf basically collapsing it on top of her. Her back had been broken in a couple of places and her leg, fuck he remembered the bones and shit sticking out. Lydia had taken Laura and lit out of there like a bat out of hell. He didn't see much but the bottom of a bottle for a lot of years, then one day Lydia shipped the girl to him for the summer. He was kind of surprised she could walk even though she to use a cane and that just fucked with Mike's world, he'd tried being nice to her but she did nothing but complain, so he sent her packing. Now, fuck it's a fucking wonder the kid hadn't taken off for more than the night.

He didn't' know if she saw him come in, but she never looked up from her book. He went in the house and stood there staring. It was fucking spotless, the curtains and windows were open letting in a nice breeze and if he wasn't mistaken something was already cooking for supper. God damn, she had to be fucking hurting from the beating he'd given her, and she went and did this. He didn't even know how to repay her. He took off his work clothes, got in the shower, and tried to think of something she might want. He realized he didn't know her very well. He brought home some Tylenol both cause he had a splitting headache and he figured she would need it if he remembered the night correctly at all. When he came out of the bathroom Laura was putting a roast that smelled like fucking heaven on a plate. She'd set the small table they had then she mumbled a fucking apology for it not being on the table already. God damn he'd already really fucked her up.

He watched her carve the roast and put vegetables and potatoes in bowl. She set them all down on the table, and then she sat down carefully, never once looking up at him. He cleared his throat, fuck this was harder than it used to be, "uh fuck, Laura, I am sorry." She looked up at him bewildered. He saw her face and felt like an even bigger asshole. Mike put his head in his hands, "I am sorry for everything, I know I haven't been nothing but an asshole to you, but I'm gonna be better. I swear it. I…I'm back on the wagon."

She jumped up, "I forgot the bread and butter." He heard the whimper she tried to suppress twisting the knife in. He grabbed her wrist and she flinched. "Laura hey, I ain't gonna hurt you no more. You have my word. I even went to a meeting tonight, gonna give up drinking for good. I'm real sorry about last night." She nodded slowly, "ok, I'm gonna get butter for the potatoes." He also noticed she was shaking like she was afraid of him. He just fucking said he wouldn't hurt her any more didn't he? "Fine, uh happy birthday girl, I uh, I didn't remember."

She looked at him with those wide eyes again, like she didn't know who he was and said, "Thanks, but it's no big deal, mum never remembered either." Laura shrugged and started to serve herself. The two ate mostly in silence. Near the end of the meal Mike spoke up, "this is real good cooking; I know your mother didn't teach you she could burn the pot boiling water." He chuckled at his comment and was grateful that Laura chuckled too. With a kind of half smile Laura said, "she nearly burned our flat in London down once because she got the notion in her head that she ought to be more domestic. I don't know, she must have seen it on the tele or heard it somewhere. She bought herself an apron and a bunch of kitchen equipment, and woke me up in the dead of night screaming. She tried to make biscuits…err cookies I mean and well she must've gotten high and forgotten because it was like 3 am and the oven was on fire. I threw water on it, but the damn thing never worked right again." She shook her head at the memory. Mike finished his plate and asked, "How old were you?" Laura tilted her head and bit her lip in a way that reminded him of her mother, she was really a beauty. "I was still in body braces so probably 6 or 7 I'd guess, I don't remember exactly. Why do you ask?"

Mike shrugged, "I guess I just don't know much about you or the life you lived with your mother, and well it's a funny story now but I bet it wasn't then." Laura shrugged, "I really don't remember except as one of the many fiascos mother attempted. She was bloody awful at anything domestic, but it didn't stop her from trying over and over again. I guess I don't really know what to tell you, perhaps if you ask questions I can answer them. Do you have any more of that Tylenol?" Mike answered, "Yeah, it's um in the bathroom medicine cabinet. If you want to go take that, I'll clear up dinner." Laura stared at him for a moment wondering what other bizarre shit was going to happen that night. Mike said, "scoot, I got this and uhm, if I brew a pot of decaf coffee would you drink some?" Laura nodded and hobbled down the hallway.

God damn he wanted a drink, everything out of that girls mouth made him feel like a bigger shit especially since it sounded like her mother hadn't been much better. After a few minutes Laura came back to the kitchen, just as he finished putting supper away; he packed himself a lunch while he was at it. He started the coffee and turned to her, leaning against the sink. "The house looks real nice Laura, thank you, but uh, where's your cane? And uh, do you need to see a doctor about that or anything?" Laura looked down and started picking at her nails, it had been such a nice evening she really didn't want to bring up the night before, but he asked and she said she'd answer. "Um, about the doctors, I am supposed to be seeing one I guess, I used to be on medication, but well I ran out and didn't have a doctor here, and um, you … you snapped the only cane I have…or had… last night" she all but whispered the last part. Mike ran his hand through his hair, "fuck, I am a real douche." He grabbed his keys, "come on, I'll bet we can find a store at the mall that'll sell you a decent cane, and well you deserve a present so let's go." Laura looked up at him, "what about the coffee?" He turned the pot off, "we'll drink it when we get home."

Laura stared at him and then jumped up, "give me a moment to ready myself and we can go, ok.. dad?" He heard the hesitance in her voice. "Sure, fine, just don't take too long." She went back to her room as quick as she could, she pulled on a pair of jeans since the dress showed more of her scars than she was comfortable with, a bra, and t-shirt, she leaned against her mirror and applied enough foundation to more or less cover the brutality on her face. All in all she took about ten minutes. She was slipping on her shoes as she came back into the living room. "Sorry I took so long." Mike raised his eyebrows, "you didn't, I ain't never met a women who got ready that fast kiddo. You musta broke some kind of women's record or something." He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes.

The trip to the mall was a little harrowing, Mike's mood steadily declined the longer they were there and Laura's leg and body hurt more. She found a nice, sturdy wooden cane with a black handle that wrapped around in a Celtic knot design. It was the least expense of the nice canes she found, though he insisted she should buy more than one. So she picked out a basic cherry wood cane with a flat handle. He tried to get her to pick out more for herself, but she told him she really didn't want for anything. He got them both ice cream and they left. He was trying to maintain the easygoing manner he was determined to stick with, but it was hard and he was growing fucking tired. Laura sensed it was better to just head home with her new purchases. "Thank you for these, they are lovely." "It ain't a fuckin problem, I told you," he muttered something about it all being his fault anyway under his breath. She didn't catch it all, and was pretty sure she didn't want to know any more. The whole evening seemed really strange to her.

For a while things continued to be odd. Laura saw John very sporadically, and he almost never said much to her except to bum cigarettes. She didn't know what she'd done wrong, but she felt very alone. The bruises on her face and body faded and she got a nice tan as the summer progressed. She was almost looking forward to school starting again. By mid July Laura longed for something to break the tedium. Mike was home less and less, though he apparently had been doing his best staying sober. He didn't yell as much, there was never any beer in the house, but he also didn't talk to Laura much at all. It was strangely like the life she'd always lived; her mother had never been around much either.

Laura was sitting outside her window very late one night; Mike arrived home a couple of hours before, smelling really strange, and he'd declined dinner in a nasty way then went straight to bed. Laura had just packed a bowl and was trying to read a book by flashlight. John's light came on, but since he really hadn't spoken to her lately she ignored it and went back to reading the trashy detective novel she'd found. It was really poorly written, but she'd read all of her own books too many times. She heard the window in front of her squeak open, she looked up with her eyes to see John pull himself up and jump out. "Hey you," it was a relatively unusual greeting from John who mostly said, 'bum me a smoke' and nothing else. She closed the book and said, "hello yourself stranger."

John walked the few paces between them and sat down cross-legged next to her. "So…so how's your summer going?" Laura shrugged, "boring as hell. Your's?" John pulled out a cigarette and offered one to her; she took it since he probably owed her a pack by now. "Not bad, got myself a job. That's why I ain't been around, if you wondered." Laura smiled at the thought that he even considered her, "I had, but you haven't seemed inclined to speak to me much." He shook his head, "you read into shit too much brit – just been busy and trying to stay the fuck away from here. You haven't looked beat up lately, stayin clear of your old man?" She shrugged again, "he went on the… wagon I think he said. Told me he gave up drinking and he's been avoiding me not really the other way around, I think." Laura packed a bowl and passed it to John, "Happy birthday." He gave her a strange look, lit the pipe, and took a deep drag, "ain't my birthday." Laura chuckled, "well since I don't know when it is, now was as good a time as any to say it as I handed you a gift." He laughed, "you are fuckin strange as klepto, but I guess I kinda missed you." The comment made Laura so happy she bounced a little, then failed to hold back a whimper as her back spasmed. John gave her a concerned look as he handed her the bowl back, she could only hold up her hand and try to catch her breath. "It's… my… back.. just… gimme… moment," Laura spit out from clenched teeth as she tried to breath around the pain. John had no idea what to do, "anything I can do to help?" Laura shook her head and he saw tears reflected on her face; he put his hand on his back and felt the muscles jumping around bones that felt all fucked up. He did the only thing he could think of; he lit the bowl again and took a deep toke, then leaned in to kiss her blowing the smoke into her mouth.

After a few more shotguns and a couple of minutes he felt her muscles relax under his hand. She literally crumpled into him getting his shirt wet with tears though she made no noise. Again, he really didn't know what the fuck to do, but he figured sitting on the cold ground like this couldn't be good for her. He leaned over and picked her up, putting her down in his lap. He felt her wipe the tears away and mutter an apology for crying like a child. "Shit darling, that felt like it fuckin hurt, I can't imagine what it felt like from your side. You ok now?" Laura nodded, "for the moment, they've been coming more often lately. I used to have medication for them, but well I've not seen a physician since coming here so obviously I've no scripts." John figured she must still be in pain or something since she sounded so English. He rubbed her back gently and she moaned a little into his chest, he moved his hands and she whispered, "Please don't stop, it's been so long since anyone has touched me kindly." That kind of statement was fucking dangerous in his book, but he'd put her in his lap and well fuck he really liked this girl, it's why he tried to stay away. He went back to rubbing her back, after a few minutes she snuggled into him all cat like, and he couldn't stop the hard on it caused. She couldn't not feel it; instead of jumping away as any good girl should she rubbed into him a bit more and kissed his throat. John grabbed her and moved her away from his torso, "now don't start something you can't finish princess." She tilted her head, "who said I'd not finish?"

John smirked at her, "come the fuck on British, it's the middle of the night and your back just did some fucked up thing. You ain't up for it." Laura squirmed a bit and straddled his legs, "I was told I give a fair blow job once." He noticed her face bloom red even as she said it. A part of him was kicking his own ass for this, but he leaned in and kissed her nose. "Ain't no need for you to do that for me, promise. Just cause your smoking ass squirmed on me doesn't mean I have that little self control." She shrugged and leaned in to wrap her body around his and muttered, "thanks, but it's your loss sweetheart." He laughed, "how about I take a rain check till I can be sure you won't fuck up your back and bite it off." She giggled, and the sound made John feel a kind of warmth in his chest he hadn't felt since Claire. Laura took a deep breath and sighed, "Thank you for being my friend John Bender, but if I stay here much longer I'm going to fall asleep on you. Those spasms take a lot out of me, and well, you've already helped more than you know."

"I suppose I should let you up then, huh?" John asked without moving his arms from where they were, wrapped around her. Laura sleepily mumbled, "not if you don't want to, but I can't imagine your ass will be comfortable till morning." John laughed at her ability to be witty even when she was half asleep. "Your old man ever check on you before he leaves?" Laura shook her head, "he put a lock on my door shortly after the wagon thing." John found that to be a very telling statement, guess the sleazy bastard knew he had problems keeping his hands to himself. John put his hands underneath her and said, "hold on." She tightened her hold on him, moving her legs around his waist and locking her ankles. In one fairly smooth motion John stood up and remembered just how little she weighed. He pulled her screen up and stepped inside her bedroom with her wrapped around him. "If memory serves your bed is more comfortable than mine and I got tomorrow off anyway." He pulled the screen down and closed the curtains to shut out the morning light, laid her gently on her bed, kicked off his boots, and pulled off her shoes. Before lying down next to her he checked to confirm the door was indeed locked. Laura kicked off her pants, got under the covers and rolled to her side. John climbed in next to her and spooned up against her. She made him laugh when she commented, "your jeans are bloody uncomfortable behind me John; I like this position so lose them please." He was up close to her ear when he growled, "you sure you want me to do that princess?" She craned her head to look at him, "I trust you and I'm never going to sleep with the denim against my back, please?" He shook his head, but shucked the jeans all the same, "the shit I do for chicks." As he climbed back in next to her she commented, "I should hope I'm more than just some chick, but if I am I suppose I'll live with it."

John was asleep within about 10 minutes, Laura while warm, comfortable, and feeling safe with him at her back took a while longer to fall into slumber. She knew something was wrong with Mike, she just didn't know what it was. He didn't come home, drunk or even stay home and drink, but he was less and less communicative and lately he smelled foul and looked like shit, like her mother had when she was dating crack-heads and junkies. John tightened his arm around her reflexively, she snuggled backwards and fell asleep feeling protected. With the curtains drawn across the window in her room the sun didn't disturb them and they slept through till just after noon. Laura woke up first and noticed not all of John was asleep. She'd slept next to boys before and yet she was still a virgin, though she had begun to worry more and more from the looks Mike gave her that she wasn't going to remain one if he didn't keep a tight leash on himself. Maybe, she could talk John into helping her out. She knew deep in her gut that the peace of the house couldn't last, and John made her feel so good. Having his warmth against her during the night had relaxed her back significantly; it felt better than it had in weeks.

He felt so good behind her, she couldn't help but squirm further back into his warmth; she could feel his relaxed breathing so she knew he was still asleep. It was with little fore thought that she slid her hand into her panties and began rubbing herself which inadvertently caused her to move against him even more erotically. With her eyes closed she imagined his hand on her rather than her own and she moaned softly; she'd stopped paying attention to the young man right behind her and just as she was about to bring herself to a peak he grabbed her hip, effectively stopping what she was doing, and growled into her ear, "Whatcha doing there brit?" She moaned again this time with a hint of desperation in her voice, "I thought you said you weren't stupid? Mmmm, please help me out or don't, but stopping now is downright cruel." In a smooth motion he lifted himself up causing her to roll to her back. He spread her legs with his knee and moved between them; his voice was still scratchy from just waking, the sound of it turned her on even more than she had been and she writhed a little beneath him. "looking for a bit of morning nookie sweets?" Instead of answering she pulled him down over her and started to kiss him. Laura wasn't thinking any further than how good he made her feel, and all rational though left John as he felt just how wet she was, he started kissing her neck, and pulled the t-shirt she had on off. He moved down and started suckling on her breasts as he moved his hand to the place hers had just been. He was surprised when she shimmied out of her panties and started to push his boxers down. He never considered stopping her, he rubbed her till she cried out and writhed beneath him, then he started to build her up again rubbing his cock up and down her slit. Laura moaned, whimpered, and writhed beneath him like a cat in heat. He moved up to kiss her mouth, and thought she was a damn good kisser. He settled himself at her entrance and began to slide in, teasing her. She was so fucking tight he didn't know how long he was gonna last. Laura bucked her hips up against him forcing him in a little deeper. She grabbed his head and kissed him deeply as she wrapped her legs around his waist, to John this was a cue; he pulled out to just the tip and he chuckled as he heard her moan. He kissed her again and slammed into her – realizing as he did that he was breaking through a barrier. Laura cried out into his kiss at the unexpected pain. John immediately forced himself to be still within her; he pulled his head back and saw a tear run down her face. "Fuck baby, why didn't you say something?" He kissed the tears and then both eyes. When he felt her clench and move a bit he started to move again. He reached down between them to rub her back to pleasure – it didn't take long before she was moving her hips to meet his every move – he leaned down to kiss her and she wrapped herself around him again, he moved faster and harder but as smoothly as he could. He was startled when they came simultaneously. She screamed his name and he moaned hers. He realized that the way she was wrapped around him it never even occurred to him to pull out. As he put his forehead against hers, she dropped her legs, and tried same as him to calm her breathing.

After a few minutes he moved off of her. However, he heard the whimpered she tried to hide so he pulled her in close, but laid his head down on the pillows. "When you are ready we need to talk about this; can I smoke in here?" She nodded and he rolled to his back, putting Laura on his chest. He found a pack of cigarettes next to him on the table with an ashtray and everything. She pulled the blankets back over them and relaxed into John's body. He smoked a cigarette and laid there thinking. About halfway through his cigarette she squirmed over to grab her shirt, she sat up and slid it on, looking kind of sleepy, thoroughly ravished and very sexy. She crawled up to sit next to him at the head of the bed, against the wall "pass me one of those please." He handed her a cigarette and pushed himself up, he moved the ashtray onto the cover between them. He stared at her trying to figure out why she'd just done what she had. After a minute Laura simply asked, "What?" John stared down at his cigarette, "why?" Laura sighed, "why what sweetheart, you need to be more specific." John rolled his eyes and let his head drop against the wall, "ok let's start with why'd you wake me up that way?" He was amazed to see her blush, "well, um, truthfully, I woke up to you behind me and it turned me on, and I sort of lost myself – didn't mean to wake you per se, but I'll not complain of the results." Bender understood losing yourself in the moment so on to the bigger question, "uh, why didn't you tell me?" Laura looked confused for a moment, then it was as though a light bulb went off in her head, "so we're on the same page, you want to know why I stop you to tell you I was a virgin?" He nodded, she picked at the blanket a little, "honestly?" He simply nodded again and put out his cigarette. "I was afraid you'd stop. Don't worry I don't expect you to profess your love for me or treat me any differently; it was a gift, mine to give, and I wanted you to have it." He was surprised by the defensiveness he heard, but it simply reminded him how different she was from all the other girls he'd ever met. She looked away from John and put out her cigarette. Not wanting to damage the bedspread she crawled over him to put it on the bedside table. John startled Laura by grabbing her around the waist and setting her in his lap. "I thought all girls placed a super high importance on that… that part of themselves; you know the whole save yourself till marriage or true love or something."

She put her hand on his face and kind of caressed it with her thumb. "You are sweet," John immediately started to interrupt her and she placed her fingertips over his mouth. "Let me finish?" He nodded and she dropped her hand to his chest. "You are my friend, right?" he nodded. "I care for you, a lot, probably more than I ought, but it's neither here nor there. Bloody hell, I don't know how to say this without coming out like a sappy chit." John chuckled, noting she was obviously nervous since her British accent and vocabulary were more apparent. "I'm not real sure what a chit is, but I doubt you're gonna sound sappy. I fully expect you to sound like a girl, princess." Laura sighed, "fine, but you asked for this and when I'm done I have a question for you, alright?" John nodded his consent. "I like you a fair bit more than I ought as you know. Especially since I realize you aren't in the market for a crippled, abuse case for a girlfriend, or a girlfriend at all for that matter. But I cannot change how I feel, and as I do feel this way I wanted to gift you a part of me no one else can ever have. There that's the emotional crap, but there's something pragmatic too," John arched an eyebrow and waited. "While Mike is, as far as I know, still not drinking, he smells more and more like a junkie. He's not grown handsy, but it's only a matter of time as I can see it before either he does or he starts bringing other junkies home with him. I'd rather die than have my innocence stolen from me in that manner when, well I wanted you to have it. There I've said my peace. I will repeat, I didn't do it to trap you into anything," this time John put his finger over her mouth.

"You said your peace, do I get to respond?" Laura shrugged and nodded. "I do like you Laura, I like you a lot and you're right I wasn't in the market for a girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be willing to give it a try. You know me as well as, fuck probably better, than any chick I ever dated. I'm just curious why you didn't tell me." Laura was confused, "tell you what? Oh! I told you because I thought you'd get all noble and stop." John barked out a laugh, "I ain't noble sweets" Laura chuckled, "you are a damned liar John Bender, but if you've a desire to continue deluding yourself I'll let you." He shook his head, "you need to see a head shrink; no I meant why didn't you tell me how you felt?" She looked at him like he was flat out crazy, "John please, I have met you, and as you noted, I know you pretty well. You don't do flowers and feelings and other such bullshit, or at least I've never known you to. Why would I tell you I have a thing for you? Especially as you acted like I owed you money the last time you simply crashed here and I told you I had a crush on you? I've little desire to be rejected you know." John pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, "I wouldn't have rejected you princess. And I didn't act like I owed you money, I figured out I kinda had a thing for you and figured a chick as hot as you wouldn't be interested."

"That's my other question." It was John's turn to look confused, "what is?" Laura muttered, "why the hell do you call me princess? I'm a cripple who lives next door to you. And I told you I'd a crush on you, silly man." John smiled down at her, "well it's the accent, you know when you get all English sounding you remind me of a princess so it just kind of fits – I know I used to call Claire that but that's cause she was so fucking rich, I think you fit it better. And why the fuck do you keep calling yourself a cripple? I get that you have a limp and a fucked up a back, but you don't seem like a cripple." Laura nuzzled and kissed his chest, "it's the name I've been teased with my whole life or as far back as I can remember. In London, the limp and the cane equate to cripple."

John nodded, "got it, don't make you one in my book, a cripple couldn't climb that old tree in the back yard after being used as a punching bag." Laura sighed, "I sobbed like a child when I reached that position because the climb hurt so bad, but I didn't know where else to hide." He kissed the top of her head, I hope you never have to go through that shit again." Laura muttered, "a happy thought, but not bloody likely if he's taken to drugs." John squeezed her tight for a moment, "yeah, but now you're mine and I protect what's mine. I've seen the scars on your leg," John noticed her turn bright red as if they embarrassed her. "What happened to you?"

Laura shrugged. "I don't know, mother never would tell me and in my first memories we were living in London and I had a brace on my back and leg. I think it's why mother got me tutors till I was 10 when the braces were finally removed and I was upgraded from a walker to a cane. It's a strange bloody childhood when you are forced to use a walker. Probably why I never had any friends my own age." After her little speech she laid her head on his chest. "Thank you."

Now it was John's turn to be confused, "you're welcome, but whatcha thanking me for?" Laura smiled into his chest, kissed his sternum and said, "for making this morning a magnificent experience. I really wasn't thinking about well how my masterbation would make you feel, but well, I'm grateful it turned out the way it did. Even if you never wanted to speak to me again I have a marvelous memory to hold close."

John shook his head, "didn't I just say I wasn't letting you go? Christ girl you need to listen better. Want me to ask you out officially or something?" Laura shook her head, "no, I don't need shit like that... just... just don't disappear on me again, ok?" He laid his head back against the wall and stroked her long hair, "you got it princess."

Pretty please click the review button and let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry it's been so long since I posted, I wanted to really make this a good chapter. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the BC characters nor make any money off of this writing.

The day after John crashed at Laura's the first time, he'd gone to talk to Bob's Repairs; the mechanic he'd been hanging around for years. He showed up at 9:30 in the morning, a time earlier than Bob had ever seen Bender. "Hey John, I didn't think you were up this early." John was pretty amazed at himself, but he was determined to get a job. "Yeah, well I was wondering, uh, so I heard you had to let Stubby go, you still got an opening?" Bob looked John over and thought about it, he'd had the kid help him on special projects over the years and always paid him under the table. "So you want a real job rather than the side jobs?" John nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. Bob pulled out a cigarette and chuckled, "you know you can smoke in here John." Letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding he pulled out his own cigarette and lit it. "So what about it, come on Bob; you know I can rebuild just about anything." The older man shrugged, "why not, I'll give you a shot kid. I know you can diagnose, tear down and rebuild just about anything, but I don't know if you are reliable. You gotta fill out some paper work; the hours I got open are 10-5. I'll start you at 8 an hour and after you settle in we'll talk about a raise, you get a 30 minute lunch and 2 fifteen minute breaks. We're open Monday through Friday, though I might have to give you a day or two off during the week if we get real slow." John smiled, "That'd be fucking great man. I can certainly do that, fuck school started at like 7 and I was usually at least close to on time." Bob grinned. The kid had been hanging around for years and he had a soft spot for him especially since it seemed like Bender had shit for a home life. It didn't hurt that the kid was a genius with his hands. "You can start tomorrow. What's with the sudden desire to be legit?"

John shrugged, "I turned 18 and I'd like to get the hell out of my old man's house. Plus, I kinda got a girl and I'd like to get myself a car so I could take her out and shit like that." Bob finished his smoke, "I thought your rich chick had her own wheels." John put out his own cigarette, "I've moved on." Bob figured he wasn't going to explain after a minute. "Alright well my wife Lorraine will be here tomorrow with all the paperwork you gotta fill out, so be sure you're not late. I'd offer a tour, but I think you know your way around the tools here better than half my regular guys." He shook John's hand, "It's gonna be a pleasure working with you kid. I've always enjoyed it in the past, and I bet you'll keep these guys in stitches, not to mention on their toes since I know how fast you work." John laughed, "geeze Bob, flattery will get you everywhere." Bob chuckled and shooed John out since he needed to get back to work himself.

John had been seeing Laura since the day they'd had sex. He knew his standard MO was to get what he needed and move on, but there was just something about this girl. She didn't ask him for shit and she was always giving of herself, she'd given him back rubs after a hard day's work, massaged his hands with this cream she had and they didn't crack like they used to when he worked on cars, and he just liked hanging out with her. One day, in the middle of the week, the shop was extremely slow so Bob sent him home, but it was still early in the day so there was no way he was going home; he decided to head to the park and think about what he could do with all the money he was making. He stopped at a corner store between the shop and where he was headed. He looked at the coolers, it was really too early for beer. Besides if he was gonna hang outside it would probably make him feel like shit. He grabbed a soda and a bottle of water, slid a couple of candy bars in his pocket when the clerk was paying attention to other customers, mostly cause the store clerk was a fucking idiot, but he paid for his drinks and bought another pack of smokes. When he got to the park sat on a bench in the shade of a big, old oak tree.

He'd been there about 30 minutes when low and behold he noticed his cute little Brit hobbling her way into the park. He wondered what she was doing there, and decided he'd just watch her for a bit – he couldn't help but think that she made fucking hippy clothes look pretty smoking hot. She was in a pair of jeans with really wide legs, so different from the skinny things Claire had been obsessed with. Laura obviously didn't give a shit about fashion since she was wearing a grey, wife beater on and a pair of sandals. It was a weird outfit but she made it work, even with the cane he liked looking at her. She wandered aimlessly for a few minutes then sat down on a swing. She leaned her cane against the frame of the swing set and began to kick her legs to swing like a little kid, he even heard her laugh when she started to get really high. About 5 minutes later a couple of kids, maybe ten or twelve year old, fucking hoodlums from down the street, John thought, grabbed her cane. Laura yelled, "Hey, that's mine." She worked on stopping, but apparently she was not quite as good at that part as she was getting started. The boys started to take off with the cane, but John intercepted and grabbed the boy holding the cherry stick. "That doesn't belong to you." The kid got mouthy, "hey, finders keepers." John grabbed the cane from him and picked him up by his shirt. "I don't think so ya fuckin brat. Now get the fuck out of here, and if I ever see or hear of you touching that lady's stuff again I will personally find you and break your fucking hands. Get me?" The boy was terrified and nodded. John dropped him; the kid picked himself up and took off at a dead run.

Laura had managed to get the swing stopped, but she'd lost track of the boys who'd taken her cane. She started to limp in the direction she saw thought she saw them running when she noticed John. "Lose something Brit?" He asked as he twirled her cane. She threw herself against him and wrapped her arms around him. "how? Where? I mean the boys took off so fast, and I…" John stopped her with a kiss. "You know damned cute you are when you're practically stuttering." She put her forehead against his chest, "shut up." John laughed, "See there, I knew you could be coherent. Whatcha doin here so early?" Laura shook her hair out of her face and looked up at John. "It's not really so early; I've been up since around 5, had a bad dream and I generally don't go back to sleep after them."

John took her hand and led her back to the bench he'd been sitting on. "Aw Princess," John rubbed her back a bit as he relaxed into the seat. "What was the bad dream about?" She shook her head. "Nothing I want to remember to be honest. You said you wanted to know me better. What do you want to know about me?" Bender chuckled and lit a cigarette, thought about it and offered Laura one; she took it and turned to face him on the bench. "Now that's almost as hard a fucking question to answer as 'tell me about yourself' which is, as you know, a bullshit question." Laura laughed, "I've got nothing but time to kill; Mike is home today. He's been better, but something weird is happening, I don't know what it is, and I'm not sure I want to. He's been cleaning the garage and being a right bastard about it. So, I'd planned to spend most of my day here. Anyway, if you aren't immediately busy… what's your favorite color?" John thought through her rambling for a minute then said, "I don't know, what's yours?" Laura responded, "I asked first." He chuckled, "uh black, or maybe blue." Laura nodded, "I like brown like the color of good whiskey and red but not the real bright one, more like the color of a really good red wine." John smiled at her, "didn't know I had to be so specific." Laura giggled and John remembered how much he liked the sound. Normally he hated the sound of a girl giggling, but there was something deeper and somehow seductive about even her fucking giggle, damn he had it bad. She replied, "You don't, but I'm a girl remember so I spend time thinking about shit like this when I've nothing better to do. You know when boys are thinking about naked women." Her comment made John snicker a little and shake his head. "I certainly like thinking about you naked." He leered at her, but instead of getting upset she kissed his neck and said, "good." He laughed, "so back to your game, we've discussed music so uh, I don't know what to ask." Laura nudged him, "bloody hell Bender, you've got to be more creative. Favorite car?" He nodded, impressed that she thought of the question, "that's easy,' 68 Mustang." Laura laughed, "How very American of you, not that I don't think their pretty cars, but I like the 67 Morgan." John looked confused, "what kind of fucking car is that?" She grinned, "A very British on, if I ever find the picture I have I'll show it to you."

"Speaking of cars, I got a raise." John said nonchalantly. Laura pounced on him, "way to cover the lead! Was it a good one? Are they making you permanent? Are you gonna get to keep the job once school starts?" John laughed and settled her down straddling his lap; she slid her legs around him putting her feet out the back side of the bench, "I can only answer one question at a time you know. The raise is pretty good, better than I expected. Yeah, I think they are gonna keep me permanent, and I don't know about school yet." Laura kissed all over his face, "congratulations handsome," Then she buried her face in his chest and mumbled something else. She only did that when she was embarrassed about something. John pulled her head back up, "I didn't catch that Princess." She shook her head, "nothing it'll sound stupid." He arched a brow, "come on, you know you want to tell me." She growled at him, "fine, it's just well, I'm proud of you for doing all this hard work, they must really like you." He was surprised at the warm feeling bloom in his chest when she said she was proud of him. When Claire had said shit like that it always pissed him off, so he kissed her nose. "See now was that so hard?"

Laura shrugged, "I didn't want to sound like a bitch or condescending or something. I mean, who cares if some kid is proud of you." She looked down and picked at her nails as she said the last part. John lifted her face with a finger beneath her chin. "Last I checked you were my girlfriend, not some kid. Besides if you were a kid some of the things I do to you would be not only illegal, but disgusting." He smirked at her. She kissed him, "you are amazing, and yet such a brat." Bender laughed, 'yeah, yeah, I'm not really a brat you know an asshole maybe, but brat, that's such a little kid word." Laura shook her head, "Not really, assholes are mean and you aren't mean to me. You prod me and make me a little crazy but it's totally worth it, so brat fits much better." He shook his head, "if you say so, just don't go spreading that around, alright." Laura leaned back so far she scared him a little and he grabbed her around the waist. "What the fuck Brit?" She sat back up, " I knew you'd catch me and I was trying to see if there was a soul on earth I would actually tell about the things you and I say to one another; I didn't see nor think of any so I think you and your bad ass reputation are pretty safe from me." John burst out laughing at her and she just grinned at him.

God damn she made him laugh. He couldn't remember any other girl who made him smile so often or scared him so regularly. She did things he thought were a little crazy and yet she called herself a cripple. He couldn't remember having as much fun with any chick he'd ever met, and most of the time they just hung out and talked. This little British hottie liked him, who'd have seen it coming. She was scary smart too, but she never treated him like he was anything but her equal. He didn't get it, but he wasn't gonna fuck it up if he could help it.

With the money he was now putting in the bank he thought he might be able to get a car in before school started, or he could move out. As much as he wanted to move, he liked being able to keep an eye on Laura. He also didn't know what would happen when school started again. He thought he might be able to keep the job, but he'd have to talk to Bob. Lorraine, the old man's wife came in once a week to do paperwork and payroll. He did his best to sweet talk her, but nothing worked as well as the day Laura showed up at the shop just a few days after they hung out at the park.

Bob had just finished a job and was standing in the main office. She came in walking pretty smoothly and carrying a fair sized bag. It was about 2, close to the time John commented he often took lunch. The bell over the door rang, but Bob continued his filing. "Pardon me, Sir." Lorraine looked up from her paperwork; in fact, pretty much every guy in the shop, who heard her, stopped what he was doing and took a look. John heard her voice and rolled out from underneath an old Ford. He stood up and started wiping off his hands. Bob turned around, "What can I do for you little lady?" She looked down shyly, took a breath and looked back at him, "would it be possible for me to speak, for a moment, with John Bender? I'll not keep him from his duties long sir, I promise." Bob chuckled, poked his head in the main shop, and started to holler, but noticed John was already on his feet. "Someone's here to see you, Bender." John smirked, "I heard that." Bob walked into the shop to check out what John was working on.

When the two guys came back into the office Laura was sitting on the edge of Lorraine's desk. Bob leaned over and whispered, "last time I sat on her desk like that she smacked me and bitched for an hour." Lorraine wasn't an ugly woman, but she could be harsh looking especially when she was being a bitch. Laura had her eating out of her hand. She was looking at Lorraine's nails. "Of course they are beautiful, but you really must be careful, these acrylics can do permanent damage to your real nails. If you ever want me to give you a manicure, not the acrylics of course, but if you decide you don't want them and you need a good manicure I learned some nifty tricks which can help bring them back to health." Lorraine was all but gushing over the girl. "It's really no problem, I assure you. John can generally reach me." Lorraine looked up and saw the two guys watching. "Well there's your boy now, Bob let him have lunch with Laura here, she came all the way down here." Bob chuckled, "you heard the boss; go on with you and enjoy your lunch." John walked over to Laura, picked up the bag she brought and offered her his hand. Now he would have never done this of any other chick, but he didn't want Laura to get hurt and it was just easier if he offered his help since she would certainly never fucking ask for it. Laura took his hand and, with his help, got off the desk as smoothly as she hopped up. She gave him a look that he'd knew was gratitude.

"Come on Brit, you can tell me what brings you out here." They walked outside the shop, behind the garage there was a patch of grass and an old tree. He notice Laura's little touch there with a blanket held down by four rocks. "Awe, you shouldn't have." Laura laughed, "why not, I didn't want grass stains on my linen pants." She grinned at him. "What, you thought I did it for you? I didn't think grass stains stuck to grease." She had a full smile by the time she finished smart mouthing. John kissed her cheek, then bit her ear and whispered, "I'll find a way to make you pay later." Laura carefully sat down while John dropped the bag and himself gracelessly. When she was settled she retorted, "promises, promises." He laughed and opened the bag. Inside he saw sandwiches, a large bag of chips, two cokes, and a Tupperware container which he lifted up arching an eyebrow at his girl. "fresh cut apples." He nodded, opened the container and grabbed one and popped it in his mouth. "Why'd you do all this?" He said around the apple in his mouth.

Laura shrugged, "Cause I could. I spent some of my money to buy groceries yesterday and well, I picked up some stuff Mike never eats, like apples and I put the chips in my room." She looked down at the blanket, "I wanted to do something nice for you that ok?" John chuckled then leaned over and kissed the small girl pretty thoroughly, "Of course it is princess. I'm just constantly surprised by you being so fuckin sweet and shit." Laura threw back her head and laughed so hard it made tears come to her eyes. "What a way with words you have, and at the risk of sounding like a copy cat, I'm not sweet. Bitter perhaps, jaded probably, kind of into you definitely; this was an excuse to see you John." He swallowed the bite of sandwich he'd just bitten into, "I'm certainly not gonna complain. Hey, you gotta eat too, come on don't make me eat all this myself." She giggled. "I wasn't sure how hungry you'd be, so there are actually three sandwiches." She blushed and looked down, "I know you don't like being taken care of but…" John interrupted her with another kiss. "Didn't I just say I wasn't fucking complaining? Now fuckin eat something, can't have you losing any weight or a stiff wind's gonna carry your ass away."

They ate and laughed; when they finished John pulled Laura into his lap for a few minutes, he wrapped his name around her and nuzzled her neck. "I can't figure it out Princess. Are you a witch or something cause well I can't figure out what it is about you." Laura opened her mouth, but John gave her a look and shook his head. She shut her mouth and waited for him to gather his thoughts. "I ain't never had a thing for a chick like you before. I know you can take care of yourself and shit, but just bein with you makes me want to do shit like hold your hand and smile." He shook his head, "you get under my defenses and I don't mind it, that's what's crazy Brit. It's fucked up ya know, I mean with Claire she made me lose focus and shit. Fuck, I don't know what I'm trying to say, but well, I'm just fucking rambling and I never do that so just thanks for hanging out with me."

Laura looked at him carefully, "Mind if I reply?" He chuckled, "nah, go right ahead." He leaned back on his elbows; Laura straddled his waist, and bit her bottom lip.

"Alright, promise you won't interrupt." John tilted his head and looked at her, "a verbal promise please."

"Fine. I promise. I ain't got all day ya know."

Laura nodded. "First, you are stupendous." John looked at her like she was crazy, but she wasn't paying any attention. "You make me feel like I am really worthy of something wonderful, and you make me feel safe and protected. You are brilliant, and don't bloody argue with me. I know you are, perhaps you don't have the book smarts of Brian, you know so many things that others don't have a clue about. When you see something you want you go for it, and that is truly admirable. You are gorgeous, you make me feel courageous and well…" Laura paused as if having an inner debate with herself. "I… I love you." John pulled her down on top of him and kissed her very thoroughly and intensely. "Done?" Laura nodded.

"Princess you are a little crazy to believe all that shit about me, but I'll take it. I don't know if I can say those words back to ya, but gimme time; somehow I think you're crazy enough to bear with me, yeah?" Laura nodded happily. From inside the shop they heard Bob bellow, "You ever coming back Bender? There are other employees ya know." John kissed her softly, "that's my cue for a smooth exit. Thanks for lunch Princess. You are an awesome lady, and I don't say that about many people." She smiled so her eyes crinkled up just a little, John stood and helped her stand up, and then he gave her a long hug and a kiss on the nose. "I'll talk to you later." With that he walked back into the shop for work. Laura packed everything up and decided to do a little job hunting since she was in the area.

Bender got hoots and hollers as he came back into the shop. One of the guys said, "That chicky is fucking hot Bender, what the fuck she doin with you?" Another said, "You get tired of her pass her on this way and I'll show her what a real man can do." The comments rounded out with a guy named Tony commenting, "I'd like to play a little hide the sausage with her, bet she learned nasty shit in fucking England." John's hands were clenching and unclenching as he tried to ignore the guys and get back to work. Just as Tony was finishing his comment John slammed him up against the wall. "You, and he looked around not letting go of Tony, and the rest of you fuckers will leave her the fuck alone. She's not like that, and if she was she sure as fuck wouldn't be for you."

Bob tapped Bender on the shoulder, "Let him go John." Bender let the guy go and punched the wall. "Go smoke a cigarette and calm the fuck down kid, and then have Lorraine look at your hand. Shit like that will force me to boot your ass out of here, hear me?" John nodded and walked outside, he leaned against the building; he didn't even know why he went off like that. Fuck, the guys didn't mean no harm, but they shouldn't talk about Laura that way. She just didn't fucking deserve it.

Inside Bob gave the guys a lecture, both about shitty comments about young women and about Bender's hair trigger temper; saying they all should have fucking known better than to push him like that. Outside Bender looked down at his hand and swore, "god damn, fucking, stupid ass." He figured he probably broke something both from the way it was swelling and the color it was turning. He didn't want to lose his job because he was a dumb ass who couldn't control his fucking temper. He pitched the cigarette and walked slowly towards Lorraine, looking pretty ashamed for fucking up on the job. He really needed Bob not to be pissed at him. He took a deep breath and sat down in the chair next to Lorraine's desk. "Hey Gorgeous, uh, Bob said you should take a look at my hand. It's really nothing, but I gotta follow the big man's orders." Lorraine smiled at him. "Your girl is a sweetie; I hope you treat her right." John cleared his throat as she picked up his hand covering what might have been a yelp of pain. "I try ma'am." She tisked at him, he didn't know anyone actually fucking did that. Lorraine pulled a towel out of her bottom drawer; she had a pretty complete med kit since guys often got hurt on the job. She was real gentle, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch when she tried moving his middle and ring fingers.

Lorraine looked at Bender, she knew her husband had a soft spot for the kid and now she knew why. In the short time he'd been working there he'd charmed his way straight to her heart with his witty, acerbic comments, not to mention how good he was in the shop. He worked harder than guys who'd been with them for years and there were never complaints about his work, unlike several of their other workers. "Sweetheart, I think you broke your hand. You really ought to go to the hospital." John shook his head, "It was my own dumbass fault, and it ain't like I haven't lived through worse. Hospitals cost money gorgeous." Lorraine shook her head, "you've been with us for a while haven't you?" John looked confused, "I started in middle of June, after school got out. Damn, gotta talk to Bob about that." Lorraine said, "about about what luv?" John was kind of surprised, he didn't remember her talking to the other guys with pet names and shit, but he wasn't gonna fuck it up with her being so nice to him. "Uh, well in September I start school again, I'd really like to keep the job though." Lorraine patted his knee, "don't you worry about it; you're too good a worker to lose over hours. Let me talk to Bobby for a minute." Before she left she put a towel wrapped ice pack on his hand and told him to stay put.

He saw the two owners step outside and wished he could smoke a bowl; his hand had started to fucking throb. He couldn't believe he was so fucking dumb as to go off about a chick. That thought led him to think about Laura, he wondered what she was gonna say about his busted hand. He didn't want to tell her it was cause the guys were saying nasty shit about her, she didn't need that especially when she had enough problems with her old man. He realized he was spacing out, one of normal reactions to pain, but he really had to stay focused on the here and now. They walked back in; Bob walked over and picked up the towel, "she's right you did a number there boy, next time just punch Tony kid. I'd have punched him if he said shit like that about my girl, and you won't break your fucking hand. Lorraine is gonna fill out the paperwork so you can get on the company insurance. Now that I know how reliable and good you are I ain't letting you go, so I might as well get you on the insurance now.

Out back is a rust bucket of a pick-up truck, but she runs pretty good. You keep her running and so long as you work here she's yours to drive." Lorraine piped up, "Bobby the boy can't shift gears with this hand." John said, "I'll make it work." Lorraine shook her head, "No darling, not today you won't. I'll take you down to the hospital myself so there aren't any problems about the insurance. I don't want you screwing it up worse. As it is, I figure you're out the rest of the week; now don't argue with me. I call this an on the job accident since the asses in there caused it, and you'll get half pay for those days. Bobby won't say a thing about it. Get yourself ready, and we'll be leaving." Lorraine got up from the desk and put away the files she was working on. He walked over to Bob, and cleared his throat. "I, uh, fuck I don't know what to say cept thanks."

Bob put his hand on John's shoulder. "Not a problem kid, I see it as an investment – I've only had compliments on your work, and a few people have come by and already requested you work on their cars. That doesn't happen often. Listen to whatever Lorraine tells you or she'll have my ass. Now what was wrong with this piece of shit Ford you was under?" John explained what he'd been doing to the exhaust and left when Bob shooed him out. John flat out didn't know what to do. People hadn't ever treated him this well. He met Lorraine out by her big shiny Caddy and listened to her talk pretty much non-stop while practically chain smoking. At the hospital, Lorraine took care of all the paperwork, asking him questions so he wouldn't have to try writing. She also handled all the insurance information with the nurses. He did indeed break his hand. The middle and ring fingers were broken both at the knuckle and further up the hand. He was put into a cast and told he could return to work the following week, but wasn't to do anything to stress the hand for the next several days. He was given a prescription for painkillers which Lorraine took to a pharmacy and filled for him, never asking what he wanted or if he could pay for it. By the time she drove him home it was almost quarter till 6. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Now have your girl take care of you for a few days sweetie." She smiled at him and said, "Bobby and I never got to have kids, but if we had a son I hope he'd be just like you. Now, I'll warn you, that means I am probably gonna mother the hell of you…if it gets to be too much, just let me know. Go on and tell Laura I said hello."

John got out of the car and watched her drive away. He was stunned, where the hell had these people been his whole life. He turned around and walked up his driveway only to notice Laura climbing out of her window.

The calm in Laura's house started to disappear just as she'd gotten comfortable with it. After her lunch with John she'd gone out to put in some more applications for a job. She arrived home with, she thought, plenty of time to straighten up and start supper. She was hoping to see John again that evening, her impromptu picnic had been so much fun, and while she still tended to cook supper, it had been weeks since Mike had actually been home at dinner time. Today, however, he was sitting in the living room waiting. "Where in the fuck have you been?" he asked in a snarl.

Laura was surprised by his presence, and even more so by his nasty snarl. She decided she would not get angry or defensive since she didn't know what was going on, "I was out looking for employment. I turned sixteen and understood I could get a job now. I thought it would help out." Mike blinked a little, not expecting her calm, reasonable answer. "Yeah it'd help out a fucking a lot. I expected you home. From now on the garage is completely off limits, you don't go in there for any reason, get me?" Laura nodded, "Yes, sir; I've never entered it prior to now so I don't see it as a problem." The snarl returned and he grabbed her wrist, gripping so tight she was sure to have bruises, and he pulled her off balance. She fell onto her bad knee and yelped in pain. Mike didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't care – "I don't give a fuck if it is a problem, I'll whip your ass if I find you in there. I'm gonna have some people stopping by this evening, so get lost." He turned back to the television and turned it up. Laura pulled herself to her feet, and muttered, "What happened to not hurting me anymore." She didn't think she'd said it loud enough for him to hear over the television, but she was sorely mistaken. In a flash, he was out of his recliner and slamming her against the wall. "Look, if you don't fucking like how I treat you get the fuck out. Maybe I'm just fucking tired of looking at you, and if you sass me one more fucking time I will punch you in the god damned mouth. Do I make myself clear?" She looked him in the eye with all the disgust she felt since he looked and smelled like a junky. "Crystal clear, Sir –may I ask a few questions?"

Mike took a step back and crossed his arms in front of him, "sure, ask your fucking questions, they best be good ones." Laura nodded, "would you like supper or should I make myself scarce before then? Is there a time it will be appropriate to return or should I spend the night elsewhere?" Mike shook his head, how could she ask really reasonable questions and sound like such a bitch doing it. "I can make my own god damned food; I was doing it long before you showed up. You best be gone by 7 or I won't be held responsible for what happens to you and if you can find someplace else to sleep you're probably better off." Mike put his hands on either side of her head and leaned in close to growl his last comment, "Any more fucking questions?" Laura shook her head and tried desperately not to cry. "No Sir." Then he pushed her too far, he moved his hands down, grabbed her breasts roughly then moved down over her waist and rubbed her ass. "Course the guys might not mind a piece of you, if you stick around." Laura cried out and tried to get away from him. He grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling her off balance again and causing her to fall on the same knee. This time it was over a rough area of the wood floor, her pants ripped and she screamed in pain. "Nah, nobody likes a fucking cripple." He said cruelly, stepped over her, walked into the bathroom, and slammed the door. Laura pulled herself painfully up again, grabbing her cane from the floor in the process; she hobbled back to her room. She closed the door, sat down on her bed and let herself cry.

She remembered when her mother had gotten involved with the guys who got her hooked on crystal; it was one of the more terrifying episodes of her young life. _Laura had just turned 11, they'd been thrown out of their last flat and so her mother had taken her to live with some friends. The friend's place turned out to be filthy and fairly disg__usting. Laura wasn't sure how many people actually lived there, as many as 10 or 12 were in and out regularly and more than once she'd walked into a room to see her mother passed out from drugs, so high she didn't recognize Laura, or fucking one of the ra__ndom guys who came in and out of the apartment. Laura slept in a closet in one of the back rooms; she padded the floor with clothes and barricaded the door when she needed to sleep. She'd stopped seeing a tutor a couple of months back. Laura didn't know __if she was going to be able to get into a school with the brace on her leg, and she didn't know when they'd come off or if she was just going to grow out of them since Lydia had stopped taking her to the doctor. One morning she got up, dressed herself, stepp__ed over the people lying all over the living room and decided to see if there was a school near there. About halfway across the living room someone grabbed her good ankle. In a cockney so thick Laura barely understood the man said, "No one told me there w__as fresh meat to be had." He began rubbing her leg, "and a cripple no less, guess that's why we get ye for free." Laura screamed and the man smacked her. She reached for her mother, grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the couch when the man tried to pull__ her back. "What? Laura why are you screeching like a banshee? Ian leave her be, she's my daughter." The man, apparently named Ian, said, "so? She looks fresh and she can't run away, just like I like'em." Lydia stood up and smacked the man in the head. "F__rankie said Laura'd be left alone here. So take your bloody fuckin hands off her before I break them." Laura looked up at her mother like she was a superhero. _ The memory was one of the last times her mother had truly stood up for her.

Mike now looked and smelled the same as the people in the apartment did, and she was terrified to be home when any of his friends arrived. It was 4:45; John was supposed to be home in about an hour, and she couldn't wait to see him. She stood up and grunted at the pain in her knee and shin, but she was determined not to leave herself vulnerable so she hobbled over and locked her door. She pulled off the linen slacks she'd had on, and put on a skirt. She no longer felt safe to be in the house without being dressed. Looking over her pants she noticed not only were they ripped in the knee, but there was blood all over the rip. "Bloody hell, that's going to stain," she muttered, she folded and placed them on top of her dresser to deal with later. She supposed she could wear the skirt she had on; it was an ankle length patchwork skirt she'd made with friends in London. She pulled off the blouse she had on, which was more appropriate to job hunting than to an evening out, and happened to see her reflection in the mirror. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," was the only response she could make to the bruises covering her chest and wrist, "damned thin skin, even a tan cannot seem to cover how easily I bruise" she muttered. She pushed the skirt down to take a look at the complete damage; her left leg which was covered in scars from her knee down had a large bruise blooming on her hip and thigh, her knee was bloody and bruised as well. She pulled the skirt back up, wiped away her tears, put on a blue peasant blouse and brushed out her hair. She did smile at just how much like a hippy she looked like.

Laura then rummaged in her closet for an oversized patchwork bag she'd made at the same time as the skirt. Into her bag she shoved a long black shirt and a pair of leggings, her stash of grass, and some of the Tylenol she'd picked up. She pulled down a cardboard box from the top shelf; the box held financial paperwork and a couple of credit cards, she grabbed the one in her name. Laura had made certain the bill came to her. She knew the day it would arrive so she could hide it, and it was presently clear; she decided she'd get herself a room for the night, and maybe John would even join her. She looked through the rest of the information and made the decision to see if she could access any of the money she was listed as having on the bank papers. She folded them up and put them in a small leather binder, grabbed her passport, and shoved those things into her bag as well. Finally she added the wallet she'd been using. Looking over herself in the mirror she decided she'd have to do, but then looked around for something to hide the bruise on her wrist, she slid on a bunch of bangle bracelets that used to belong to her mother. She looked at the time and was surprised to see it was 5:45. She made sure there was nothing of value accessible in the room, shoved her hairbrush in her bag as a last thought and put the bag over her head. Walking hurt tremendously, but she was damn sure going to walk out of here. She started to unlock her door but heard an unfamiliar voice talking with Mike and smelled something, that wasn't food or pot, burning. That made her decision for her. After quietly closing and re-locking the door, she opened her window and pushed up the screen, got onto the window sill and swung her legs over. She made certain her bag cleared with her, she leaned her cane against the house and whimpered a little as she stood up to shut the screen and window. She yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin as a "hey there beautiful" was whispered in her ear.

John wrapped his arm around her waist since he knew her balance sucked and he'd apparently scared her. "Hey, hey hippy what's wrong?" Laura pivoted on her good leg and clutched John like he was the last good thing on earth. He let her hold on, but after a minute or so he said, "ya know, hugging me would be easier if you weren't wearing a bag as big as Allison's. What gives?" Laura put her head against his chest and quietly said, "It's a story I'd rather not tell while still anywhere near this place. Are you ready to head off or should I wait in your back yard for you?" He tilted her head up and looked her over; something was definitely off, "I'm good to head out. We headed to the park?" Laura shook her head, "um, I'd like some food first, and then we can figure out the rest. And please, let this be on me, I'm breaking out a stash I've not used." John smirked, "I can't say I've ever argued with someone who wanted to take me out, but you know I got some cash." Laura put her hand on his arm, "it's not charity, just something I really want to do; however, you have to pick the place." He chucked, "uh, let's see, there's a few restaurants down past work we'll see what looks good." He noticed Laura pale a bit, but she said "alright, let's start walking." John responded, "And you can start telling me what's up."

Laura nodded, "sure, but only if you tell me what happened to your hand," she grabbed her cane and started to walk; John instantly noticed her pronounced limp, even with the cane. After getting only a couple of houses down he also noticed she wasn't talking and looked like she was clenching her teeth. He stopped her, "I get the impression something pretty bad happened and it's already starting to piss me off. Are you gonna be able to walk to the park let alone past Bob's?" Laura took a deep breath and tried to blink the tears forming in her eyes, "I will bloody well walk anywhere I need to in order to get away from here John, please just bare with me." John sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "come with me." He grabbed her hand and started walking back towards their houses; she whimpered and tried to pull away. "Breathe sweets; my old man has been somewhat less of a dick since I started giving him money and buying groceries. I'm just gonna borrow the car." Laura relaxed and followed him as quickly as she could, but after only a few paces stumbled from the attempt to move too fast. John caught her, and moved to swing her up into his arms. She shook her head no, and he instantly knew why when her skirt flew up high enough for him to glimpse her knee. "I'm gonna fucking want to kill someone before this night is over, I'm fucking sure of it." He said this to no one in particular, and carried her to his house; he set her gently down on her feet at the door and pushed it open. "We're in luck; the old man ain't even home." Laura stroked his hair back, "should you be carrying me with a brand new cast on?" John chuckled, "I just did, didn't I?

His mother looked up from a magazine she was flipping through, "Hi Johnny, I thought you were going out and I wouldn't get to see you." She had arrived home from work before he had. "There was a slight change of plans. Ma, this is Laura, Laura this is my ma." Laura nodded and quietly said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Bender." Wendy Bender whistled, "Damn Johnny, ya got yerself a real live one here, she sounds all pretty like the queen of England or something." Laura found herself trying to hide, not knowing how to take the odd compliment. "Leave her be ma, she's kinda shy. Ya know, you might be able to help me with something, seems my girl here got her knee all banged up, we got any alcohol or bandages?" John was surprised at his mother's next actions, "yeah, sure have her sit down here and I'll fix her right up." Wendy got up and walked to the medicine closet to grab a bunch of stuff. John led her to a chair in the kitchen and leaned against the wall right behind her, he stroked her hair gently, putting his broken hand under his jacket on his chest. He whispered, "She'll like even more if you let her fuss over you. She's like that with chicks." Laura leaned back into John and grabbed his hand, "if you say so, babe." She unthinkingly used the arm she'd put bangles on to hide more bruises; John grabbed her hand and arched a brow at her, she mouthed, "later, please." She saw his nostrils flare and knew he was getting more upset by the moment.

Wendy came back, ooh'd and ahh'd over Laura's outfit, and was impressed when Laura told her she could make something similar if she had access to patches of cloth and a sewing machine. Wendy got quiet when she saw the extensive damage to Laura's leg, but set the skirt just above her knee and cleaned the blood away. She put antibacterial ointment on and then a gauze pad because the damage was too large for a band-aid. She noticed the misshapen knee and looked up at John with a question in her eyes, he shrugged. Wendy pulled the skirt back down over Laura's legs and stood up, "It's gonna be sore so be careful, but that'll at least stop infection. You want the car Johnny?" He nodded, "thanks ma." Wendy dug in her purse and tossed him a set of keys. John caught them easily, walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek. She wasn't half bad when she wasn't drunk. He looked down at Laura, "ready?" She nodded, stood up expertly on her good leg then scanned for her cane. She looked a little wild eyed thinking she lost it someplace. John was confused by her scared look until she whispered, "my cane?"

"Take it easy Princess," he produced the cane from the wall he'd been leaning against and Laura let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. With her cane firmly in her hand she looked at John's mother, "Thank you for your kindness this evening Mrs. Bender." Wendy's eyebrows went up, "It weren't nothing, you ain't but a little slip of a thing no sense messing up that knee any worse. You and Johnny go on and have a nice evening. It was nice to meet you Laura, you're welcome here anytime." The last made John arch a brow at his mother; she'd never even extended that kind of thing to Claire. "What? She's a sweet bit of a girl besides I got a sewing machine; maybe she'll make me one of those skirts." John shook his head and led Laura out to his mother's car; he found it funny that she gushed over Laura's knee but never asked about his hand. The car was a beat up old Ford, but John made sure it stayed running and his mother kept it clean, unlike their house. He pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the strip of restaurants, "you still want food?" Laura nodded and played with the bangles on her arms. "Think you're ready to tell me what the fuck happened so I can let my temper out before we sit down to eat?" Laura sighed, "You remember that I started looking for a job this week, right?" John nodded, but didn't take his eyes off the road. "I came home today and Mike was there. He's lost a bunch of weight lately, and well I think…I think he's on crystal." John looked briefly at her, "crystal meth?" Laura nodded, "He smells bad just like mother did when she was on that shit. Well he was pissed I wasn't home, and he grabbed me when I tried walking past." She raised her arm acknowledging where the bruise circling her wrist came from. "I lost my balance a bit and fell, when I tried leaving again I muttered something he found offensive, he knocked me down again then pulled me up and screamed at me a little. Told me I should make myself scarce…that…that he'd not be responsible for his friends. Told me the garage was off limits and then… then… he… well he grabbed me." John saw her blush out of the corner of his eye and gripped the wheel even harder. "That son of a bitch, I'll fucking kill him." Laura shook her head, and laid a hand on his leg. "I got out, you know and I'm well away from there for now. I was going to get a hotel room for the night. Do you think, uhm, do you want to spend the night with me?"

He was stopped at a traffic light and he turned to look at her, "I'd love to princess, but I gotta return the car." Laura nodded, and turned her head away to wipe at the tears which unexpectedly formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't just walk." John sighed, "don't fucking apologize, not like you could have done anything but make that bastard hurt you worse. Maybe I'll return the car and come back to you. I got the rest of the week off due to my hand." Laura picked at a string on her skirt. "You don't have to John, I am sure you have things to do. You've spent so much time with me lately your friends have to be wondering where you've been." John shook his head, this girl was so different from anyone he'd ever met, she had shit for self confidence and for a smoking hot chick who had money stashed in all kinds of fucking places he just didn't expect it. "Laura, you are a lot better fucking looking than any of my friends, besides you generally provide conversation when I want it, and don't mind being quiet when I don't. Now why would I prefer a bunch of smelly, stupid guys over you?" Laura shrugged. John sighed, "You ever gonna tell me what really fucking happened to fuck up your leg and shit. Yeah, yeah, you said you don't remember, but let's try the song and dance routine again."

This time Laura sighed, "I don't remember really, I have a kind of patchwork of stories from a bunch of people that I sort of put together after Mike said something when he beat me on my birthday. I guess Mike tried to hit my mother with a baseball bat and hit me instead. As I understand it, the bat smashed my knee and I guess a book case fell on me breaking my back and my leg in a couple of places. My mother said it was the reason she left him, rather accused me of being the reason she was forced to leave. Like I said, I don't remember what actually happened. In my first memory I have pins in my leg and after that I was in a brace for years." After that speech she shrugged again. John had an overwhelming urge to take a baseball bat to the motherfucker's head.

"Now are you going to tell me why you have a plaster cast on your hand when you didn't at lunch?"John knew he'd have to explain eventually. "Shit happens in a shop, my hand collided with something much harder than the bones. There's good news out of it though." Laura turned towards him, "well don't keep me waiting." He grinned, "but it's so much fun to torture you." Laura pouted, which made John laugh. "Alright, alright, stop with the pout. Bob and Lorraine are keeping me permanent; she said they'd work around school cause customers were already asking for me by name. That means I got health insurance to pay for this," he held up the cast on his hand, "and I get half pay even for the days I gotta take off this week." Laura clapped, leaned over and kissed him. "I'm glad someone else sees just how incredible you are John Bender. Now pick someplace to eat, I'm famished."

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, but whether you do or not, please send me a review, it keeps the characters talking.


	4. Chapter 4

Hope you like this chapter, there's some set up and some romance. Standard Disclaimer, I don't own any of the BC characters - just my imagination.

After a fair amount of negotiation the couple ended up at Applebee's. The restaurant wasn't packed, but it was just crowded enough to be kind of loud. The hostess seated them and moments later a waitress began rattling off specials and drinks much too fast for either of them to catch. At the same moment they glanced at one another with the same look in their eyes which caused grins to sprout on both their faces. Laura spoke up, "the gentleman will take a beer, whatever is on tap, and I'd like a large glass of water and a cup of tea, please." The young waitress bounced away. Laura started giggling. John was a little confused, "what did I miss, princess?" Laura shook her head, "nothing except I've an overwhelming desire to call our waitress Tigger." John still looked confused, "You know, Winnie the Pooh's friend the tiger who bounces on his tail." John shook his head, "you are just a little nuts, but it's cute so I don't mind." Laura stuck out her tongue at him. They looked over the menus and made their choices; John got a burger and fries, Laura got a salad and a side of fries – a choice which John teased her about. "Doesn't the order of fries fuck up the healthiness of the rabbit food?" Laura laughed at his comment for a minute, and when she caught her breath she replied, "I like rabbit food and I didn't get it to be healthy, but simply because it made my mouth water, and I think the fried chicken on top of it will sufficiently fuck up the healthiness that fries shouldn't matter. Besides don't you tell me regularly that I shouldn't lose any weight or a stiff wind will carry me off?" John smirked, "very true princess, I can't have that happening so I guess I will just have to keep a tight hold, eh?" Laura laughed again, "yeah and between us we are one whole functional person, I have two hands and you have two legs." He smirk but didn't retort because he really didn't want to hurt her feelings and she was touchy about her leg. Their food arrived and they ate in silence for a while. When John finished his burger he asked, "So where do you want to crash tonight? There's only ritzy hotels on this side of town." Laura shrugged, "I think I want ritzy for a few days, so I was thinking maybe that Holiday Inn right down the street." John's eyebrows went up, "It's your dime babe." Laura nodded, "that it is and I wish to spend the weekend in a bit of luxury since I've decided not to go home till at least Monday. You are welcome to stay, or come and go as you wish; I'll make sure you have a key to the room."

John looked her over carefully; he noticed the circles under her eyes and the faint hint of fear behind her fearless facade. "Tell ya what, I ain't never really staid at a place like that, so I'm gonna drop you off and make sure you get settled, then I'm gonna take the car back. I'm gonna come back and steal all that girly alone time you were hoping for and stay the whole damn weekend with you." Laura beamed at him, her cheeks blushed a bright red. "You know you don't have to…" John interrupted her, "what part of that previous statement mentioned had to? Fuck it, you get to stay in luxury why can't I do it too." He smirked at her. They both knew what was really going on, but were content to leave it in the subtext of their conversation. Laura paid the check with her credit card and they got up to leave.

They walked out to the car hand in hand, but before they reached it someone started shouting, "Yo Bender! Bender, man hold up!" They both stopped and John scanned the area; he saw a group of his buddies heading towards them. There were maybe 5 or 6 guys who came up, some Laura remembered from school, but several she'd never seen before. She moved a little behind John because they looked really out of it, on something. "Hey man, Jonesy got some sweet shit you gotta try man. It's out of this fucking world. We're out looking for some trouble, or maybe some chicks, or you know what ever comes up. Haven't seen you in fucking ever, dude. Come on out with us, you always know how to find shit that's fucking off the hook." John's demeanor changed like slipping on a coat. "Really shit head, are you blind, stupid, or too fucked up to notice I have my own business happening?" A number of them laughed, "You could share hop-a-long hottie there." Laura felt the tension in John level up as he pushed her further behind him. "I don't fucking share Jonesy."

John had one hand in his pocket and surreptitiously handed the keys to Laura behind him. She got the message and while he kept them talking; entertaining them with the fight he supposedly broke his hand during Laura slipped away to the car, got in, and locked the doors. John finished his story and one of the guys noticed Laura was gone. "Aw man Bender, you fucking suck. You let the chick slip away. That mean you're free to come and party with us? We're gonna find some shit to fuck up." He shook his head, "Jackass, what part of broken hand or I was on a date didn't you fucking hear? If she disappeared because I was held up by you block heads I'm beating the shit outta someone, get me?" Jimmy, one of the guys Laura recognized from school asked, "what happened to your rich bitch?" John shrugged, "I moved on, what of it?" Jonesy started walking away, "Bender's gonna turn my high into a downer, great story smart ass. Let's go boys he's not going to be any fun, besides, now he has to go and find his little girlfriend cause we scared her off." They all laughed and followed Jonesy. When they'd left the parking lot John walked over to the car and knocked on the window. Laura opened the door for him. She was curled into a ball on the seat, her head on her knees. "Hey babe, they're gone." She nodded. "Sorry, I'm bad for your reputation." John sighed. "For fuck sake, I don't give a fuck what those guys think. I don't take the shit Jonesy hands out anyway. I don't even know what the fuck most of it is, and I don't take shit if I can't identify it. Besides, weren't we talking about luxury?"

Laura uncurled a little and nodded. She didn't say much until they entered the hotel where she turned into a little socialite. She knew all the right things to say to the guy behind the counter, even how to smooth over little things like being underage by getting the room in John's name. Everything went smooth as silk; John had no idea she could put on such an act. He figured it would have made Claire sound like a country bumpkin. They got on the elevator and he let out a chuckle. "Smooth moves you got there, Princess." She fucking curtsied at him, which made him laugh even more. His laughter made her start giggling. They arrived at the room still laughing. Laura got a room called a King suite; John wasn't sure what the hell that meant. However, he was suitably impressed as he followed her in. He whistled as he looked around; the bathroom had a sunken tub big enough for two and a shower, there was a small kitchenette with a bar and two barstools, a king sized bed, a couch, coffee table, two wing back chairs, and a desk around a huge entertainment center containing a large TV with cable and a remote control! "Holy shit babe, this place is almost as big as my house!"

Laura flopped down on the bed and chuckled. She rolled to her side and watched John checking everything out. "I spent months of my childhood living in rooms like this or even bigger suites. It kind of depended on who mother was screwing at the time. I never thought I would miss it." John stalked up to the bed, picked her up and threw her further up and over on the bed so he could stretch out next to her. "I can't figure out how someone as small as you are can take up so much space." Laura gave him the finger and retorted, "I'm not that damn small. You talk like I'm a midget or something." John laughed, "nah, you're not a midget, course that might be useful, you wouldn't have to get on your knees…" Laura rolled over and smacked his chest, "don't even finish that sentence John. That's just wrong." John knew she wasn't mad because she had a twinkle in her eyes. "So… so, do you want to just order room service all weekend or were you planning on getting supplies for the kitchen?" Laura put her head on his chest and snuggled up to him. "I was figuring on getting supplies, but having room service now and then. Why?"

John shrugged, "Just curious I guess…do I want to know how much this room costs?" Laura shook her head and closed her eyes, "probably not, but you don't have to worry about it, so don't. Suffice to say it costs enough that I should probably get a job one of these days." She rolled off of him suddenly. "What's up?" John asked, confused by her action. "I'm tired; it's been a long and trying day. If I snuggle up to you I am going to fall asleep and you have to leave. I don't want to get comfortable and stuff." John moved to the middle of the bed, "get yourself comfy, and ready for bed if you want Princess. I was planning on putting you to sleep, returning the car and getting back before you woke up." She bit her lip. "Promise you'll come back?"

John sighed, anyone else would have had him snapping, but there were tears glittering in her eyes and she looked fucking terrified. He wasn't particularly gentle, but he didn't really snarl or snap at her. "Didn't I say I would? I'll be here when you wake up, I fucking swear. Now shimmy out of those clothes so I can put you to sleep properly." He gave her a lascivious leer. He was fighting with himself, why was he treating this girl differently than anyone else? Fuck, he wasn't this nice to Claire, course he liked Laura even more than he liked Claire. It wasn't like she was made of spun glass or some shit, but he just had this overwhelming need to protect her, it was like a fucking addiction – he needed to see her sweet smile, hear her witty remarks. Seeing tears and fear in her eyes felt like his old man punched him in the gut. What the fuck was wrong with him?

While he was having this inner debate, Laura stripped off her skirt and blouse and hung them over a chair, got out of her panties and bra – John looked up just in time to see her pull them down – laid them over the other arm of the chair, and then she raced to the bed so he didn't get a proper look at her gorgeous little body. Damn. "What's your rush sweets? It's not like its cold in here, or you've got to worry about anyone but me seeing." Laura shrugged and proceeded to distract him by grabbing his shirt and pulling him into a kiss. She licked his bottom lip and they began an even deeper kiss. She reached down to the hem of his shirt to pull it up, he let her and broke away from the kiss long enough to pull the shirts over his head. He really stopped thinking at all when she ran her hands down his chest and started unbuttoning his pants.

John moved himself over Laura, letting her push his pants and boxers down; he kicked them off without ever breaking the kiss or removing his hands from her body. He moved down to kiss her neck pushing the covers down he kissed down her throat and opened his eyes to look up at her. Laura's eyes were closed and she was running her fingers through his hair. He looked down at her perfect breasts and got instantly pissed. They were covered in nasty bruises like someone had tried to crush them with his hands. Laura felt him tense, "please, baby… John… don't…don't let him ruin this… don't let what he did to me make you stop… please… I need you… need you to love the pain away…. "John took a deep breath and let it out then he started kissing her breasts licking and suckling everyplace he saw a bruise. He proceeded to do this over her entire body. His kissing and loving mouth on her body made her come before he ever touched the most intimate part of her body. John felt like a king when he felt it. He'd kissed all the scars on her legs; when he moved up to her thighs he felt her body tighten and heard her moan.

He kissed her belly, laid his head on her letting her come down before he continued. His hands continued to stroke her thighs and belly. "You all right there sweets?" He asked with a chuckle. Her answer was a slightly moaned, "mmmhhmm, just don't stop, I'll even beg if I have to." John chuckled in the way only a man in the midst of pleasuring his woman can, "Princess, I haven't even begun." He grinned when he heard her whimper. John knew he was good, but damn she was so sensitive. He didn't think he'd ever had a woman come so many times. After they'd both come, John let himself rest on top of her, leaning on his elbows so he didn't crush her or fuck up his hand, but she felt so good he just couldn't bring himself to leave her inner warmth yet. She was small enough that she could kiss, nuzzle, and lick his neck and chest while he relaxed on and inside of her. He was stunned to feel himself get hard again quicker than he ever had. She moaned and wrapped her legs around him, not allowing him to move much as she clenched her muscles and ground against him. He'd never felt anything like it; he knew she was a virgin before him, but hell she was a fast learner. The second time they rolled around and writhed for almost a half hour before he came again, she came several more times. Afterwards he had to pull out because of how sensitive he'd gotten. He lay with her; stroking her hair while Laura fell into the sleep of a fully satiated woman. He drifted a bit, but after about an hour he looked at the clock, it was almost 2am, he had to get the car back. He so didn't want to leave, but he couldn't leave his ma hanging after she'd been so cool to Laura.

He slipped quietly out of bed, Laura whimpered a little so he tucked a pillow in the space he had been taking up; to his surprise it worked and settled her down. He turned on the light in the little kitchen so he could get himself dressed and grab his things; before he left he went through a short checklist: wallet check, room key check, car keys check. John slipped quietly out of the room ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head a bit to wake himself up. He took the stairs down to the hotel lobby. He nodded at the dude at the desk. "Leaving sir?" John shook his head, "I'll be back in just a bit; we forgot a few things." The guy nodded, "take care and I'll see you when you return." John considered how fucked up the little interaction was, people who looked like that desk clerk normally didn't speak to him, let alone behave as though he was someone important enough to be called sir and shit.

John got home with no problem and breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of lights on inside. He opened the door as quietly as possible. His old man was passed out on the couch with what looked like a case of empty cans on the table and floor around him. He laid his mother's keys on the table and walked to his room making sure to follow the delicate path around squeaky floor boards. Once in his room he grabbed a clean shirt off the pile on his dresser, looked around, decided he didn't really need anything else and opened his window. No reason to chance waking anyone. The clock in his room read 2:45; his hand was throbbing. He wished he'd remembered to take one of those pain pills before he'd left the room. He thought he might have been a bit too active considering, but in the midst of it all he wasn't feeling any pain at all.

As he climbed out his window he heard loud voices from Laura's place; what he heard pissed him off. From inside he heard a bunch of guys talking, all of whom sounded about as smart as his dumbass father. "Thought you had some kind of fuckin hottie for a kid." Another voice, this one he recognized as her old man replied, "Yeah, she's smoking, but she's a whiney prude, and a fucking cripple. Her mother musta really worked her over since she gets all fucking squirmy if I get near her, stupid bitch. She's fucking disrespectful too. I don't even know where she went, little bitch probably won't be home tonight." A third man said, "Well that's probably for the best, since we don't need a cripple getting in our fucking way – you said you had the garage all set up like a lab. We gonna get cooking so we can high and make some fucking money?"

Laura's old man replied, "Smart man, let's go." Bender heard a bunch of moving around then a door slam. He remembered her saying she thought he was doing meth, was the dumb motherfucker really gonna set up a fucking meth lab? Jesus Christ, he needed to get the fuck out of the neighborhood and figure out a way to get Laura out too.

As John walked back towards the hotel, he scanned the basically empty streets of Shermer. Fuck he wanted to get the hell away from here entirely, not just his shitty neighborhood. He started thinking about how incredible things were with Laura, she didn't put up with his shit, but she didn't fight with him constantly and she didn't want him to be something he wasn't. For a while he really thought things might work out between him and Claire. But his world and hers were just too different in the end he guessed. Laura's life was as fucked up as his was though her experiences were different. After all the fancy shit she knew growing up, Shermer had to suck. John was not sure what she saw in him, but he was crazy about the little Brit. He reached the park still thinking when out of nowhere the group of guys he'd run into at the restaurant were suddenly surrounding him. "Bender man, knew we'd see you again tonight."

John was tired and really just wanted to get back to the hotel. "Oh? What made you so fucking sure of that?" Jonesy said, "Intuition, somehow I just knew. Dude, you got any smoke?" He shook his head; I got a pack of cigarettes if that's what you're asking, but none of the other. Besides I thought you guys got all fucked up this evening?" He decided playing the game would get him gone faster. One of the other guys, a burner whose name John could never remember said, "Yeah, we fucked some shit up, but the downside is sucking something fierce." Another guy, Tommy, smacked the dude in the head. "Shut your fucking mouth stupid; ain't nobody's business what we were doing tonight." In the distance Bender heard sirens; whether they were cops or an ambulance he didn't know and really didn't care. However, the guys around him got wide eyed and without another word scattered into the park. John shook his head, shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking again.

He got a couple of blocks further, and saw the restaurant where they'd had dinner. He was happy because it meant the hotel was just a mile or so up the road. He put his casted hand inside his coat; since the cool of the night was making it ache even worse. He looked down for a minute and shook his head, trying to clear it from fatigue and, he guessed, pain. When he looked back up he saw a cop car pull into a parking lot blocking his way. Bender sighed, just what he needed, more interruptions. The policeman got out of the car, and gratefully, it was a guy John knew. Bender was tired enough not to remember the cops name so he simply said, "evening officer."

Officer Jim Braden had picked Bender up any number of times; it was rarely because he was in trouble, but because the cop wondered why the kid was walking in the middle of the night. He'd often seen him beaten and bruised, but the kid would never press charges against his old man. Braden had grown up in a similar situation and felt for the boy. Tonight however he was after a group of guys who'd smashed a bunch of windows and possibly robbed a number of stores. When John got closer, Braden notice the circles under his eyes. "You doing alright tonight, son?" Bender fished a cigarette out of his coat and nodded while lighting it. "Yes sir, I'm just trying to get back to my girl. She went and got a room for us for our anniversary, and I'd like to get back to her before sunrise."

"Have you been with her all night?"

John took a drag off his smoke and nodded, "well right up till I had to go return my mother's car – didn't realize it was such a long walk back."

"Have you seen anyone else out tonight? There's been some trouble this evening."

"Saw some people back by the park, but I didn't go and have a chat or anything. What happened?"

Braden noticed John had one hand stuck into his coat, "whatcha got beneath your coat?" Bender sighed and pulled his hand out from the warmth of his coat, "one motherfucking cold broken hand, why?" Braden shook his head, "call it professional curiosity." John chuckled, "professional curiosity my ass, but whatever gets you through the night." John suddenly had a bright idea, though he wasn't sure it would come to anything it might just make him look good. "Hey I smelled the strangest shit earlier, any idea what smells like I don't know sulfur and burning hair? Made me fucking sick to my stomach." The officer tilted his head, "I can think of a few things, where'd the smell come from?" John shrugged a little, "I don't know it was somewhere around my house, just got a whiff of it on the breeze, it was nasty man. Do you need me for anything or can I keep trudging to the nice warm bed and nice warm girl I have waiting?" Officer Braden smiled, "I can give you a ride if you like; I don't think I'm gonna find who robbed the stores tonight." John did a double take, "there were robberies? And people call me a fucking criminal." Braden laughed, "Yeah, I know better you're mostly just an ass. Look I'll even let you sit in the front; you look like shit."

"Normally I'd have some witty come back, but I'm really fucking tired and my hand hurts, so if you are willing to take me the last bit I'll take it. I'm headed up to the Holiday Inn." Bender could not believe he was accepting a ride from a cop, but there it was. He was tired and hurting and well, Braden had always been pretty cool – or at least not treated him like shit. "What happened to your hand if you don't mind my asking?" It took Bender a minute to realize he'd been asked a question, "uh accident at work you could say." Braden chuckled, "you could say? Is that some kind of code for something else?" John shrugged, who was this guy gonna tell? "I had a choice of smashing in the face of a jackass I work with or punching the wall, and stupid me chose the wall. Hell even the boss told me to just punch him next time." Braden glanced over, he'd been watching John for the last five or six years; he could have turned into one of the biggest problems in Shermer, but he hadn't. Sure he probably smoked, and maybe even sold pot, but he wasn't generally a breaking and entering type. Or at least he hadn't been in over a year. "What the jackass do?" John shook his head, "He said shit about my girl; I must be fucked in the head. I mean this dude, he's an ass, but generally an alright dude and I was going to fucking beat his ass for talking about her. How fucking dumb does that make me?" Braden laughed, "doesn't sound dumb at all really, kid. Sounds like you're in love." John didn't respond because he was afraid the cop might just be right.

Officer Braden knew that the Holiday Inn was at least a mile down the road. He also knew John lived at least a couple of miles back. He wasn't sure how good the tip on the kids in the park was, but he was willing to check out the neighborhood. The whole department had recently been briefed on the rising problem of home grown crystal meth labs and the rise in heroin. Braden dropped John off at the hotel and told him to get some rest.

As John walked in the desk clerk welcomed him back. Bender just had the energy to nod at him as he went by he trudged back to the room, each step seemed harder than the last, but as he entered and locked the door behind him he saw Laura. Maybe the cop was right, maybe this was love. All he knew was that he wanted to pull the girl into his arms and sleep for a week. He had the presence of mind to strip and take a pain killer before crawling in behind her. About the time he was almost settled Laura rolled over and opened her eyes. "You're freezing sweetheart. Here put your poor hand on these pillows and snuggle in, I'll warm you up." Her voice was thick with sleep and she was still trying to take care of him. He did as she asked, and snuggled into her warm body. Laura wrapped her arms around him and kissed his chest sleepily. He'd already started to warm up and fall asleep when he heard her mumble, "Love you John Bender."

Back at the park, only one guy saw John talk to the cop, but he also saw him climb into the cruiser like they were buddies; Jonesy had some questions for Bender.

Pretty please read and review... they comments really help.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry updating has taken so long; life gets in the way sometimes and I have a penchant for long chapters. Anyway, I hope you like this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bender or anything BC related.

When John woke up he was alone in bed, though he knew Laura was still in the room without opening his eyes. For a few minutes John lay still as though he was sleeping just experiencing his girlfriend as she moved around the suite. She had a certain smell it was calming unlike the heavy perfumes of most girls. Claire hadn't been too bad, but Laura smelled sweet and kinda spicy not like she was wearing regular perfume. She wasn't using her cane so she moved with care, kind of slow so her limp didn't really make any discernible noise, but John knew it was there. The thought startled him and he opened his eyes to see Laura moving towards the kitchen just like he heard and and now he saw her limp. He thought it was really fucked up that he just sort of knew her. That he really genuinely enjoyed her presence was the weird part; just knowing that they got to spend the next couple days together without anyone to bother them and nothing to do would normally having him antsy for something to get him away from where he was at, and yet he was looking forward to it.

"Staring is rude you know." Laura said without ever turning around and he then noticed she was wearing his t-shirt from yesterday. She walked back towards him with a cup of coffee in her hand. She set it down on the bed side table next to me. She had a cup of something in her other hand, she walked around the giant bed, set her drink down, climbed into bed and got herself propped up, but she was sitting in another zip code. "Come here." John beckoned her closer. Laura handed him her coffee cup and crawled towards him. John's smirk bloomed as he watched her. "That's kinda sexy, ya know?" She blushed, reached back and grabbed some pillows. Laura set herself up in a little nest next to John. "So you got anything else on besides my shirt? Not that I have a problem with it; my shirt looks fucking terrific on you." If it was possible she blushed even more. As she got settled in next to John he slid his hand up her thigh to discover that his shirt was indeed the only thing she had on. He turned her head towards him and started kissing her softly, but when she licked his bottom lip it turned into something more.

John and Laura spent the rest of the morning using the bed fairly actively – about 3 hours later Laura lay with her head on John's chest, both of them panting and sweating a little. Laura kissed his chest. "What would you say to some food?" John chuckled, "I'd say it's probably good to keep our energy up." Laura sat up, the covers fell to waist and John wasted no time leaning in to kiss and nuzzle her breasts. She giggled and squirmed, "I thought we were going to have breakfast." John leered at her a little, "hey, I think you are a fantastic breakfast for me." She jumped off the bed and grabbed the room service menu. She got back on the bed and sat cross-legged, just far enough away that John couldn't grab her easily. After perusing the menu for a moment she laid back and handed John the menu. "There's no prices on this thing." Laura chuckled, "of course not, it becomes part of the final bill. Just pick breakfast please, and stop bloody worrying." Their breakfasts arrived shortly, they ate, and Laura announced she wanted a bath.

John smiled, "have at it Princess. Holler if you want some company." He settled back on the bed and turned the TV on. After about 30 minutes of searching through reruns and being disgusted by MTV, he searched through Laura's coat to find her stash. He rolled a couple of joints, pulled off his shirt, and sauntered into the bathroom in just his jeans. He didn't expect to startle Laura, but he did.

Laura had turned the water to a very warm setting and poured the shampoo in as Bubble bath. She wished she had a couple of candles to make it perfect, but wasn't going to waste a treasure like this tub. When it was most of the way full, she turned cooler water on and slid in. The heat was a little hard to take at first but it soon did its work on her muscles. Tripping and falling down was never a good thing for her; dealing with dear old dad being a shit she was more used to than she wished to be, but John went a long way in healing that, even, she laughed to herself, as he made other muscles sore. As she was beginning to really relax and consider getting out; the door swung open. Laura went on autopilot; she yelped, grabbed a towel, and she stood up, she cowered and shook a little then said, "I'm sorry, I'll be right out". John took a step towards her and lifted her head up with gentle fingers beneath her chin. "Hey, hey, what's the apology for sweets?" He couldn't help but noticed she was shaking like a leaf. "Laura, babe, look at me," He could see her eyes clear as she sort of came to. "Oh gods John, I'm sorry, you startled me." He nodded, "Yeah, I kinda got that impression. I was just gonna ask if I could slip into the tub with you, but now that you're out, we can just head into the bedroom," He commented with a smirk. She bowed her head and blushed all over her body; John didn't even know that was possible. In a very quiet voice Laura apologized again. "Damnit babe, quit fucking apologizing to me!" John walked over and scooped her up off the ground; he kissed her nose, walked out of the bathroom with her in his arms. He set her down on the bed and sat next to her. He tilted her face up to him again, "Ya know I got used to you looking at me, what the fuck sweetheart?"

Laura took a deep breath and reached up to stroke John's cheek. "I was startled and sort of went on auto-pilot. The truth is, well, fuck… it was a struggle to remain a virgin as long as I did. My mother's … friends had little regard for her or me and so I…I just…" Tears started to fall down her cheeks. John didn't know what to do, he wanted to pull her into his arms and tear down the world that had hurt her. However, something told him that she needed him to just listen. John stood up, handed her a t-shirt to slip on, and wiggled his fingers at her, "come here." Laura stood up and walked with him over to the couch. John plopped down and pulled her into his lap. "Now, we're both a little more comfy, want to tell me what's happening in that head of yours?"

Laura laid her head on his shoulder. "It's hard to explain. I will see if I can … um, I guess I am embarrassed about the bruises on me, and uh well I don't want to make you mad at me. I had thought of inviting you into the tub, but didn't know if you wanted some space or something."

John was flat out confused. "Princess, do you think I am gonna get tired of you and turn into someone else?"

Laura shrugged, "kinda…I don't know… guys always got tired of mother after they'd slept with her a few times, or she ran out of money or something, and I don't think I give nearly as much as I get from this…" she motioned between the two of them. "I don't think you'll turn into someone else, just…just not like me anymore."

John sighed and put his forehead against her. "Ok, lemme explain a few things ok? No interrupting till I'm done." Laura nodded her consent. "I am not gonna get tired of you. Fuck baby, I think… well… I think I love you. You make me want to destroy the world to get at anyone who even makes you cry. I'm not mad at you because your old man bruised your body. Makes me want to bash his head in with a fucking brick, but I am in no way upset with you. Get me?" Laura nodded, but he could see in her eyes that she only sort of believed him. "Sweetheart, look at me." Laura looked up and her eyes still glittered with unshed tears. "First, you are incredibly fucking sexy and I am really into that. Second, you are smart, probably too smart for me, but what the fuck. Third, you love music, charm everyone you meet – yeah that includes me and I am the lucky bastard you have chosen to give yourself to. I think I'm the one who should be worried, I mean you grew up with all this fancy shit and I ain't never been further than Chicago."

Laura wiped her eyes and put her head on John's shoulder, she softly kissed his neck and in a whispered voice said, "I've never met anyone as strong and determined as you. You have every right to hate the whole world and yet you are kind to me. I feel safe, protected, and loved when I am with you. I don't think I've ever felt that way before ever… why would I ever want to be away from you? I'm just a weak, crippled girl; I think I am the lucky one." He moved her head so he could begin kissing her. They kissed until they simply needed oxygen. "So do we move this party to the bed or the bath?" Laura giggled, "Why move at all?" She reached down and unbuttoned his jeans.

John grabbed her hands, "Hey, before we start that party I want you to understand something. I don't think you are weak, and you ain't a fucking cripple. Christ babe, you got the shit kicked out of you and climbed a fucking tree. So just fucking stop it." When he finished talking he started kissing her neck and let go of her hands. Laura backed up from him and proceeded to tease him by taking his shirt off of her body in very slow motion. He leaned in and started to suckle and kiss her chest; she so enjoyed what he was doing she almost forgot about his pants, but managed to get them pushed down without too much trouble. The two of them stayed on the couch for the next hour.

John was flipping through channels again while Laura slept off their latest bout of sex. After she'd fallen asleep he carried her to the bed and covered her up. He just didn't get how insecure she was. They had another month before school started again and he was determined to make sure she felt as fantastic as he thought she was. He didn't know how to start, but he knew he'd figure something out. Laura started to stretch and stir next to him. He looked down at her with a smile, "afternoon sweets." Laura grinned and blushed, "is it already afternoon?" John smirked and nodded.

She pulled herself up, "I'm famished." John's smirk remained, "can't imagine why that might be, not like you've been doing anything strenuous or active today." Laura smacked his arm playfully, "shut up. It's all your fault, you are just so damn sexy I keep forgetting about food" Laura replied with a smirk of her own. John laughed, "Yeah well I think you'll need to wait on more protein till you feed me."

Laura hit him with a pillow, then got up and started dressing, "Let's go to the store so we have some food here. It will be far cheaper than room service, and besides I want to cook you dinner." John slid his jeans and t-shirt back on. He pulled a comb out of his back pocket and started taming his hair. Laura put on the outfit she wore the day before, ran her brush through her hair and turned to John. "So do I look presentable?" He smirked at her, "No, you look like a fucking hippy, but it'll do." She shook her head and began emptying things out of her bag, mostly into one of the dresser drawers. When the bag was holding just what she needed for the store she grabbed her room key and said, "shall we?" John shrugged, "I've been waiting on you babe."

They let the clerk know they'd be back in a bit and walked out into the heat of the day. John stopped, "fuck it's hot out here, are you sure we can't just hole up inside there?" Laura called him a wimp and rushed off. They played something like tag the entire walk to the store. As they entered, John took a deep breath – "thank god these places are air conditioned." Laura picked up enough food for several meals, a pan and a pot, a set of wooden cooking utensils, plastic plates, forks, spoons and knives. John watched her amazed, she knew just what she wanted and even in a store she'd never entered she carried herself as though she knew everything. It was this amazing transformation. Gone was the terrified, insecure girl who was afraid he'd leave her and in her place was this goddess who could handle anything. He wondered how long she'd been pulling off this transformation; she looked several years older even though she hadn't changed anything. He thought he might ask her about it, but well maybe not, at least not till they were alone again.

Laura slipped into the persona she'd created for herself as a teenager, the woman who knew everything and could do anything. She slid into the transformation as easily as John went from himself to Bender at school. It forced people to leave her alone, she didn't need their help. While being congenial, just like her mother had taught her, she also gave off an air of self-sufficiency. When her mother had left for day at a time for who knew where Laura had to be an adult and take care of herself; often it was better than when Lydia had been around, because then she had to be the adult for both of them. This act was one of the few things she was grateful to her mother for. She finished shopping and paid for everything. John carried most of the bags, a few were shoved into her purse and they headed back to the hotel. Laura looked over at John, "Babe, do you want me to carry one of those bags, I thought you weren't supposed to be using that hand." John rolled his eyes at her. "I'm fine." Nothing more was said, it was only a couple of blocks and the pain killer John had taken before they left was doing its magic.

They were at the back of the hotel when a car honked and pulled in to the parking lot blocking their way. Mike, Laura's dad, got out of the car looking both stoned out of his mind and pissed off. "Where the fuck have you been girl?" he yelled. John wanted to step between the two, but Laura stepped forward, "Following your instructions to get the hell out of your face and house for a while."

He squinted at her, "I never said anything like that." John stood on the side, and quietly put the bags down so his hands were free. Laura sighed, "You might be too stoned to remember but you did, just after you assaulted me again." Mike grabbed her arm and jerked her forward, "What is your fucking problem? You are acting just like your bitch mother." Laura tried to pull her arm away from him, but he held on tight. "You're fucking coming home now. I got friends there and they need someone to cook for them." Laura shook her head. "I don't know what you have going on, but you told me not to be around these friends of yours and I intend to follow that to the letter. Leave me alone and I will be home Monday or Tuesday."

He started squeezing her arm, "where the fuck are you getting the money to stay gone that long? Where?" He jerked her towards him as he screamed in her face. John could not stand idly by and watch this happen. He walked forward and wrapped his arm around Laura's waist. He said, in a very quiet, and Laura knew, dangerous, voice, "Let her go." Mike jerked his head up to look at John. John immediately noticed several things: first he stunk, second his hair was hanging in greasy strips around his head, third his eyes were red rimmed and glassy. "What did you say to me pretty boy?" John cocked an eyebrow no one had ever called him that before. "Dude, I don't know how you swing, but I suggest you let go of my girl's arm before I am forced to do something about it." Mike laughed, and it sounded a little like a cackle, "What the fuck are you gonna do about it boy? I've watched your old man kick the shit outta you since you were a little brat and I know you ain't got it in you to do shit about what happens between _my_ daughter and me."

John had insinuated himself between Mike and Laura so a quick jerk back would get his hand off of her. He jerked her back, Laura quickly moved out of her father's reach. "Why do you think she's paying for this anyway?" John asked. Mike chuckled, "Cause I ain't ever seen you pay for shit boy, I always figured you for a good for nothing, and if you can pay for keeping her for days at a time, perhaps you should just fucking keep the little bitch. If she doesn't come home with me now, she ain't fucking welcome back."

John moved back so he too was out of Mike's reach. He looked at her, asking her what she wanted. Laura responded to her father's ultimatum. "Have it your way. Go back to living in a filthy drug ridden mess like you were before I showed up and see if I care. If I never see you again it won't bother me one bit. So go away." Laura felt some relief in knowing that he'd both reinforced her door and given her the only key when he'd been straight and kind. Maybe she could retrieve at least some of her stuff. Mike reached out and smacked Laura hard enough that she fell to the ground. John immediately stepped in front of her. "Pick on someone your own size you fucking druggie." John spat at Mike.

Mike shook his head; "just wait till I tell your old man what bullshit you been up to." John spat on the ground at Mike's feet. "Like I fucking care." Mike got back in his car pulled out, nearly causing an accident and sped off. John turned around, helped Laura up and started to say something, she shook her head. "Wait till we're inside, please?" He shrugged and picked up the bags. Laura's limp was far more pronounced for her fall to the ground. They walked into the hotel, nodded at the clerk and headed directly to their room.

Once the door was shut behind them, Laura started putting food away, and setting up the little kitchen. Not saying a word, John leaned against the entrance and watched her wondering when she was gonna burst – he made his move when he noticed her movements getting kind of jerky. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, grabbed her hands and said into her hair, "The rest of this shit can wait – come talk to me."

Laura leaned back into John and kind of deflated. She spun in his arms and put her forehead on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "I have to find someplace to live – I think I am happy to figure it out. I think maybe it'll be better. Fuck, I think I'd rather live on the streets than go back there." Her voice was very soft and he thought his shirt might be getting wet. "come with me," John led her around the kitchenette and over to the couch. He pulled her into his lap, grateful once again that she was tiny enough to do so. He lifted her chin and saw the tears streaming down her face. "Baby girl, you won't be doing anything alone. I'm here with you and well, I like I said earlier… I fucking love you. I ain't letting you go. And I'm not letting you try to do this shit alone."

She put her head on his shoulder, "John… I love you, I really do. I'm in love with you, but I don't want to drag you down with me." John shook his head, "drag me down from what? The glorious fucking mansion I live in with the assholes who call themselves my parents?" He smiled when he heard Laura chuckle. He kissed her head, "we'll figure this out together, ok? I'm not letting you do this alone. So just get that straight." Laura nodded, "thank you." John smacked her ass, "what are you thanking me for? Hitching your ride out of the ghetto?"

Laura kissed his neck, "I'm thanking you for loving me." He started tickling her when he had her out of breath, but smiling he said, "I wasn't looking for love… thought I just got out of a relationship and all that shit… but well there you were. Fuck Laura, if you remember correctly, I tried avoiding you."

"Hey, you said you were just busy." Laura said as she snuggled into him.

John shrugged, "sue me, I lied. Christ, you had enough shit going on, like I wanted to add to your problems."

She smirked at him, "can I tell you something that'll make you laugh?" He nodded and waited, "I don't know if you remember me visiting before, it was like eight years ago." He thought about it for a few minutes then nodded. "You were kind of skinny and didn't play outside much."

Laura agreed, "It's hard to be a normal play outdoors sort of child when you have a back brace and have to walk with a cane. Anyway, I had a terrible crush on you. The one day I remember spending time outside you were nice to me, course Mike started screaming that a cripple had no business being outside where people can see… but you were sweet and called him an asshole. Even when I got back this year I wondered if you were still next door."

John kissed the top of her head and said, "I'll try not to be so charming next time. Hey babe, will you do me a favor?" Laura turned toward him and nodded, "anything."

He chuckled, "one of these days I'm going to ask something of you that's not this easy. But I want you to rest for a little while and then whip us up some lunch. I need to run a quick errand." He kissed her neck, "I'll be back quick as I can, and yes I promise to be safe lover."

Laura stood up, pulled John up with her and walked backwards to the bed. "I was all stressed out, but I'm not tired." He put his hand on her face and rubbed it with his thumb. "You may not be tired, but I also know that the walk didn't do you a lot of good, and falling fucked up your leg and knee more." She looked down, "how?" then she noticed blood on her skirt. "Fuck!" Laura sat down on the bed, pulled her skirt up, and noticed that the gauze pad John's mom had put on her knee was now covered in blood. "Damn it, another piece of clothing bloodied and ruined by that… that bastard." She pushed the skirt down and lay back. "Would you pick up some bandages while you are out?"

John leaned down and kissed her thoroughly. "Pay attention sweets; I want you well rested when I get back." Laura giggled, "Aye aye, I suspect you'll want to use up all that rest?" John smirked, winked, and walked out of the room. Laura cleaned up her knee as best she could it was irritated, but not bleeding heavily anymore though apparently it had been. She wandered into the kitchen and put together a tuna salad which she covered and put in the fridge. Afterwards, Laura cleaned her knee again, stripped, stretched out on the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

John left the hotel pissed off. He knew he had to take a few moments to himself and work it out or he'd be an ass; he wasn't upset with Laura, but the desire to beat her old man to death had its appeal. He found himself down by his shop, remembered it was payday and wandered in. It was mid afternoon on Friday and he figured they probably weren't too busy. Lorraine was there, which was unusual but he liked her. She looked up from her paperwork. "Well hi there handsome." She smiled at him then shook her finger, "You aren't supposed to be here till Monday." John smirked, "I can't come and say hello to a gorgeous woman, now that's just downright cruel." She laughed and patted the seat next to her desk.

John sat there talking with Lorraine, and occasionally helping out a customer or three which was not part of his usual job description, but after seeing her stop what she was doing, payroll, three times he decided to jump in and help. "You need more help around here." She sat back and chuckled. "You are right John, we need a decent receptionist. You know someone who can answer the phone and be nice to the customers? By the way, you've been missed, there's already a car waiting for you. You know Jimmy McPhee? He's the man with the classic mustang, well apparently he doesn't want anyone but you or Bobby workin on his car. Bobby's been backed up since well none of the guys work as fast or thoroughly as you do. Can we make a copy of you boy?" John sat and listened, he forgot just how much this woman talked. Bob walked into the front and locked the door when he turned he saw John sitting there. "Come to get your check?"

John shrugged, "yeah… and well fuck, I need some advice and um you two are the only folks I really trust." Bob came and leaned against the counter, he looked John over and thought the boy looked more rested then usual but there was something, "what's got you so pissed bud? If you break any more bones I'll have to lock you up some place safe and only let you out to work." That made John laugh really hard, he never expected to truly feel like there was anyone one who cared enough to help him, but here he was really respected and well liked. When he caught his breath he said, "I need to find someplace to live." Lorraine immediately looked worried, "Did something happen at home sweetie?" John shook his head, "I just need out of there, spent the last few days with Laura, and I just don't want to go back."

Bob and Lorraine looked at one another – Bob said, "do me a favor and finish clearing up my station? Well, it's really your station but I've had so god damn many people asking for you that it's just easier to work in your bay. Shorty quit, but I'll explain all that in a minute." John looked a little confused but got up and walked into the garage and started putting tools away. Tony walked over to him, looking abashed, "Dude, I just well…uh…I'm sorry for being such a douche. If you'd said something that nasty about a girl of mine I'da fucking decked ya – and well thanks for not beating the shit outta me. Uh, when you come back next week I'll be your wing for anything you can't do with the cast and shit. That cool?" John nodded, "It's cool man, I ain't pissed about it no more. I'll be grateful for the help cause this cast is a fuckin bitch." The two men laughed and talked for a few minutes while John was finishing Bob's clean up.

From the office Lorraine called him. He yelled back, "I'm nearly done, be there in a minute." He finished up and walked into the front. Bob was nowhere to be seen. Lorraine patted the chair he'd been sitting in. "Now I don't know if you knew this, but Bobby and I have several rental properties. Would you rather live in a house or apartment given the choice?" John was a little floored, "Uh, I suck at yard work and shit so an apartment I guess." She nodded, and handed John his paycheck while looking over some paperwork. "What are the chances you'd be willing to clean and paint the place? Cause if that'll work for you, there's a place you could move into as soon as you wanted. It's not furnished, but we're trying to get rid of a bunch of furniture and we'd give you first pick."

"I… well hell… I certainly don't mind cleaning or painting, how much would it be a month? I mean will I be able to go to school and still work enough to afford rent and stuff?" Lorraine shook her head. "We have kind of a deal for ya – you don't have to pay rent at all if you can keep the place up. It's an older four apartment brownstone, bout half way between here and the high school. Sometimes you'll need to unclog a sink, or call a plumber; you'll collect the rent at the beginning of the month and get it to us, that sort of thing. Think you can handle it?"

John was stunned, these people trusted him, John Bender, with a whole building, and money… what the fuck. He was worthless, but fuck he needed something for Laura. "I'll be damn happy to take it. I'll do anything you need, and do my best, you have my fucking word. I…" He hung his head for a minute and just plain didn't know what to say. "Thanks, I don't know what I'd do if it weren't for you and Bob." Lorraine smiled at him, "John, sweetheart, I told you before…now don't get mad or anything but we see you as the son we never had, or at least we'd like to. Oh, and before I forget, let me know when school starts and we'll adjust your hours."

John thought about it for a minute, ran his hand through his hair and decided he should be completely honest, he didn't know if it was his best or brightest idea but he just couldn't do less when they were doing all this for him. "Um, in the interest of laying all the cards on the table, Laura's gonna move in with me." Lorraine's eyebrows went up, "I didn't know it was that serious boy. Isn't she a little young?" John started to get pissed, but realized she just didn't know Laura like he did. "I guess and no she isn't. I got an idea for you… I suppose I ought to run it by her first, but well you said you needed help, and she's been looking for a job. How about you let her do the receptionist work. I know you like her." He smirked, deftly changing the subject. Lorraine thought about it. "Have her come in with you on Monday. At the end of the day we'll show you the place and sign necessary paperwork to make you the apartment manager. Now, what aren't you telling me about this situation, sweetheart?"

John shook his head, "It's not my story Lorraine, it just isn't. I can tell you her old man is a son of a bitch who tried to rape her and has more than once beat the shit out of her." He shook his head he didn't want to tell her this but he felt like he had no choice, they were giving him so fucking much. "Look, uh, how about maybe we have dinner, the four of us on Monday and she can explain it all… would that be alright?" Lorraine smiled, "I'd love to have you over sweetheart." John nodded, "I have to dash, got a girl waiting on me." He smiled, feeling on top of the world. These people were just not fucking real, no one was this cool; however, he was going to do his best to be gracious and say thank you and keep doing his best for them.

He started walking back to the hotel. He couldn't wait to tell Laura all this news.

Please please please hit the review button and tell me what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Bender, sadly.

I hope you like the chapter - it allows some down time for the kids, starts trouble, and sets up a few things... let me know what you think by pressing review, pretty pretty please. Thank you all for following like you have; it's both incredibly gratifying and fodder for the muses.

Laura woke up, stretched, and noticed John wasn't back yet. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have found someone who would put up with all her crap. She had physical disabilities, which she really ought to see a doctor about since her back was getting worse, and she had emotional issues, stemming from the truly fucked up life she'd led up to now. That got her to thinking about needing a place to live and a job, but she stopped herself. She didn't have to think about it for a few days yet. Come Monday she would have to call Lloyds and figure out how to transfer some of her funds to a local bank. She pulled on a t-shirt, wandered to the kitchen to get something to drink and wondered where John was.

Laura sat down on the stool and drank her water, while trying to decide if she wanted to get dressed. Instead she decided to stretch out on the bed and let her mind wander. Just over a year ago she was in London, in a ratty flat, waiting for her mother to return from a date. When the Bobbies came to the door instead, she first worried that Lydia had gotten herself caught for drugs. It had happen before; when she was 13 she had to spend a summer with her grandparents while her mother spent time in court, in jail, and in a detox program. Her grandparents, while being filthy rich, wanted nothing to do with her and refused to provide anything, but the bare minimum. They called her and her mother names. She was a bastard, a bitch, and a cripple, those words had hurt so bad – it was the first time she'd met them and they were cruel. They blamed her for every situation her mother was and had been in. She was the sole cause of Lydia's problems. All she had wanted was to please them, but by the end of the summer she'd learned that was never going to happen. After Lydia died they were even more caustic.

Granted they were Lydia's parents, but they really had no cause to blame Laura for Lydia taking drugs, causing a car accident, or killing herself and two others. However, they wouldn't even let her sleep in the house – that was something she'd never told anyone. Her own grandparents had made her sleep in the garage in February because she had somehow killed their only daughter. Laura wiped her eyes and decided to refocus her thoughts on John. He was so amazing. She'd never felt protected before, she'd never really felt safe, she'd always been on guard and when she was with him, she felt like she could do anything. She was getting annoyed with herself because she couldn't stop herself from crying, was it her lousy parents or the fact that until John came along no one had ever wanted her. Well they'd wanted to use her and/or abuse her, but they never wanted her. She got up in a rush and went to the kitchen, pulled out the steaks and French fries. She turned on the small oven in the kitchenette and tried to focus on something other than her mind apparently wanted to. She still couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She opened the steaks, seasoned them and put them in the pan on low. Then she walked over to the bedside table, lit some incense and a joint. She needed to calm the hell down and the oven needed to preheat anyway. After a few hits her tears stopped and she felt herself calming down, maybe she'd have a good evening after all.

John had a spring in his step as he walked into the hotel. He took the elevator up to their room and opened the door. He smelled the incense and noticed that there was food cooking. "Hey baby, got any of that smoke for me?" He wandered over to Laura, she handed him a half smoked joint but didn't look up, he kissed the top of her head and her neck, "and you smell terrific." Laura smiled, "thanks sweetheart. Thank you for everything." She looked up at him and he noticed that she'd been crying. He sat down next to her. "I have great news, but I'm only gonna tell you if you tell me what's got you down." Laura shook her head, "it's really silly. How about we talk about it over dinner, Ok?" He kissed her head, "if you really want it that way. You can tell me your bad news and I'll tell you my good news, maybe it will all balance it out." She kissed him softly on the lips and ran her fingers down his cheek. "You always make it better for me babe, always." John chuckled, "You're a little crazy Brit, but you're cute, you're wearing my shirt again, and you're cooking me steak, so I am certainly not going to complain." That got a laugh out of Laura which was exactly what John had intended.

Once she had everything cooked, she set the small table with the plastic dinnerware and put out the fries, steak, and small salad she'd put together. John sat watching her bustle about the small room and felt better and better about what he was going to propose to her. However, he did want to know what had made her cry while he'd been out so perhaps his announcements could wait. When she'd finished putting everything down, she wiped her hands, looked up, and smiled at him. "Join me?" He got up and walked to her, kissing her before sitting. "This looks awesome. Who knew you could do it all in a hotel room." Laura grinned, "Obviously, I did silly." He laughed and they each started fixing their plates. John finished first, "so are you going to tell me what made you cry? Cause you know I will keep asking till I get it out of you." Laura finished chewing her bite of salad, "yes, I know, your methods of persuasion are legendary. It was silly; I was just having a pity party about how crappy my family is." John tilted his head, "I know your dad is a jerk. I've gathered that your old lady wasn't much better, but I didn't know about anyone else."

Laura took a few bites of food, put down her fork, took a drink, and responded, "I spent a summer with my mother's parents when I was a kid and not long after she passed I was forced to stay there again. I was actually happy to get sent to Mike just so I didn't have to stay there any longer." John finished his steak, "were they that bad?" Laura shrugged, "they believe I am the reason my mother screwed up her life – they wouldn't let me sleep in the house after she died. Told me I was just a bitch and dogs didn't belong in the house." Laura said that with so little emotion John was taken back. "Wasn't that during the winter?" She nodded and quietly said, "in New York too, I had a space heater and covers of course. I'm just glad I didn't have to stay there for more than a month." John was stunned. She was such an awesome chick; it was one more example what assholes most rich people were. "Damn princess, I am sorry. Tell ya what, how about you and I stick together. I promise you can always sleep in my bed." Laura laughed, "that's good, I think I might be kind of like a stalker if you didn't." she grinned and finished eating. "So what's your news?"

John turned on the light by the couch, he took Laura's hand and led her over. "I don't know if you are gonna feel like this was…fuck, I don't know, high handed of me, but uh, would you move in with me?" Laura blinked a bit, "you have a place?" John nodded, "kinda…ok, so I went to get my paycheck and ended up talking to Lorraine a little. I told her after spending these few days with you I didn't want to go back of my folk's house, which is totally true by the way. She and Bob, well they asked me to manage one of their apartment buildings, and it comes with free rent and utilities. Uh, I also sort of suggested you might be a good receptionist for them. They really need the help and having a pretty girl in the front office, according to Bob, will increase their business." Laura launched herself into his arms. She had a moment of being upset that he'd gone and done all of this, but then she thought through all he'd done in a few hours. "You are amazing; I can't even believe how amazing you are!" She started kissing all over his face punctuating each kiss with a "thank you." John lifted her up so she was straddling his lap; "so Monday we'll go up and you can talk to Lorraine about front end stuff, I go back to work, and afterwards they'll show us the place. They said we might need to clean and paint and stuff, but I don't think that's a problem." Laura was grinning, "I promised myself I wouldn't get all stressed about it, which led me to thinking about how amazing you are to me, especially when well the people who are supposed to love me shitty." John smirked at her, "I can't help it if I am truly fucking awesome, now can I?"

They cleaned up from dinner and climbed onto the bed to watch a movie. John then told her about the offer of the pickup truck once he had the cast off his hand. Laura leaned back and laughed, "You have a car, a place to live, and you got me a job… you deserve something extra special for all that." John smirked, "You got something in mind?" She nodded and proceeded to show him, causing them both to forget about the TV until the movie they'd planned to watch was almost over.

The weekend passed in a kind of hazy bliss for both John and Laura. They talked about their pasts and their hopes for the future. How they were going to juggle school and work. Laura asked John what he wanted to be when he grew up to which he responded, "I don't intend to grow up so doesn't that make the question irrelevant?" She stuck her tongue out at him, "I'm serious." John laughed, "How can you stick your tongue out at me then tell me you're serious. It just doesn't work like that."

"Why not? Perhaps I am choosing not to grow up either." John answered by tickling her till she was laughing so hard tears were rolling down her face. When she caught her breath she said, "You are a brat." He grinned and nodded, "Yep, never claimed different." Many of their conversations went along those lines. Sometime later they were lounging on the bed and John asked, "Hey you know you never answered your own question, do you have some plans for being a 'grown up'?" Laura sat up, John propped himself up rarely seeing her so excited. She said, "I want to be a teacher."

John looked seriously confused, "why?" Laura rolled her eyes, "not all school has to suck, and I think a good teacher can make a big difference in someone's life. Course, I might decide to teach at university instead, where the pay is probably better. That means lots of years of school though." John shook his head, "You want to stay in school? After high school?" Laura grinned, "Yep, remember, I didn't have the benefit of years of torture as a child." John's only response was to call her a crazy British Princess.

Sunday afternoon John woke up from a nap to find Laura pacing. He'd never seen her pace before. "What's the problem?" he asked sleepily. He figured she hadn't heard him or something as she was still pacing and apparently chewing on her hand. "Hey Laura, what's going on?"

She stopped and turned to him, "nothing, just trying to decide if it's a good idea to break into Mike's place… I don't have anything to wear tomorrow. You said she was going to talk to me about a job… I can't wear a bloody skirt and dirty blouse…"and she returned to chewing on her finger. John sat up and said, "There's not a fucking chance I'm letting you go back there. It's not like I can't slip into your room, or like I haven't done it before, got a duffel bag or something I can put clothes in?" Laura nodded and sat on the edge of the bed – "John, I don't think it's safe for you."

He shook his head, "you don't think it's safe for me and you think I'm letting you go back there? Really? No fucking way Princess. Think a-fucking-gain. Now, I need to go home and pick up some shit for myself anyway. So, I'll slip into your room and grab some shit for you too. Want me to just get as much of your clothes as I can?" Laura nodded and gnawed on her finger again; John moved her hand away from her mouth. "Stop that. I'll be fine and I'll be back before you know it. How about I take off, you take a nap, make us some supper and we'll eat when I get back?" Laura worried her lip a bit then nodded. "What would I do without you?" John smirked at her as he got up, "be a virgin."

He got dressed, kissed Laura and promised he'd be back before she had time to miss him and began the walk home. Home he thought, not any more, at least not for long. John wasn't sure how to break this news to his parents, or if maybe he should just disappear. It was faster than he thought to get back to his street. Fuck, after spending the weekend at the hotel he wished he never had to go back to the dump his parents called home ever again.

He saw both of his parent's cars and wondered if he should just climb in his window, but his mother had been really cool. He stood on the sidewalk in front of his house and smoked a cigarette debating. It was around 4 in the afternoon, which meant his old man might be watching a game and completely ignore him then again he might see John walking in and go on a fucking rampage. John finally decided fuck it and walked up to the front door. He took a deep breath and walked in – there was a baseball game blaring on the TV and so he tried to slip by, he got as far as the hallway when his mother hollered, "Johnny is that you?" Fuck, he thought to himself. "Yeah ma, it's me."

She hollered again, "well, come here honey." John sighed and thought; at least she's still in a good mood. He turned and walked back to the kitchen; his mother was sitting at the table clipping coupons. "How's your girl?" John gave in and sat down, "she's alright, she got a hotel room for the weekend and apparently a good soak in a tub heals all things." His mother chuckled, "yeah, a good long bath does go a long way towards healing sore muscles. You gonna tell me what happened to her?" John looked down at the newspaper for a minute then back up at her, "I guess when she was a kid her old man busted her up. Her ma died last spring so she ended up back here anyway." His mother looked appalled, "they really put her back with someone who was known to have abused her?" He shook his head, "Ma, I don't know if it was ever reported; her ma took off for Europe where she spent most of her life up to now." Her eyebrows went up, "After Europe, what does she think of Shermer?" John was left kind of at a loss; this was the longest, most polite conversation he'd had with his mother in years. He shrugged, "she doesn't seem to hate it," he smirked, "at least not since she started dating me." She reached over and stroked his face; John had to force himself not to jerk away. "I can see that, you are pretty handsome."

John looked at an ad for furniture then looked up at her and quietly said, "you're different, what changed?" Wendy looked at John and shook her head in answer, as though she didn't want to talk about it. He shrugged and nodded his consent, arched and eyebrow and asked in a very quiet voice, "later?" She nodded. Out of nowhere his old man screamed, "Can't I watch a fucking game in my own house without having to listen to the two of you bullshit? When the fuck are you gonna cook me some fucking dinner?" Joe Bender lumbered into the kitchen apparently there was a commercial on. He smacked John with a good deal of force in the back of the head, "where the fuck have you been? I been hearing some pretty strange shit about you boy." He grabbed a beer out of the fridge. "Well? I asked you a fucking question boy. Where in the fuck have you been? I ain't seen you in a couple of days."

John rubbed the back of his head, "I've been out with my girlfriend." Joe opened and took a long drink out of the beer, "the little fucking crippled girl from next door? Yeah, she's probably about your league, she can't fucking run from you." His mother stood up, "Joe, stop it, she's a nice girl and she looks cute with Johnny." John's father polished off the beer in a second drink, crushed the can, and threw it in the sink. "Did you just back talk me woman?" She sighed, "No Joe, I'll start dinner so it's done when your game is over, alright?" He nodded, "that's what I thought. Now about you, ya lazy fuck. I heard you were paying to put your little whore up." John stood up, "leave her out of this; I wasn't paying for a thing Dad. She said she wanted to treat me so I let her. And she is not a whore." The last was said through John gritted teeth. Joe responded, "She's whatever her old man and I say she is mother-fucker, and since she's fucking you I think she's a whore." John's mouth suddenly got away from him, "what so now your friends with our neighbor or is it just cause he's a fucking druggie?" Joe's fist slammed into John's mouth before he had the time to even consider which part of the statement pissed the old man off. His head slammed, with the force of his father's fist, into the fridge door handle; Joe punched him in the stomach. When John fell to the ground he blissfully blacked out, but it didn't stop his father from kicking him in the side as hard as he could, his mother tried to pull Joe away but he backhanded her into the table and the shouting began. The last thing John remembered was his mother screaming for his father to leave him alone and something breaking. John woke up in his room, his head was pounding, his stomach and chest ached, and it was dark. "Fuck," John sat up slowly, knowing that moving fast would be a bad idea. He got up and grabbed as many of his clothes as he could fit into a duffle bag, a few old keepsakes and his knife collection. Shoved them into the bag, opened his window and pulled himself out. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his body he sat on the ground outside his window to catch his breath. He wanted to see the damage, but figured he was better off not knowing till he got back to the hotel. The worst that would happen was Laura would freak out. He briefly wondered about his ma, but decided he'd try to talk to her when she was at work rather than coming back to this dump.

When he felt like he wasn't going to puke he checked around Laura's place. Everything was silent and dark. Her old man's car wasn't even there. His own place was the same, and he briefly wondered what time it was. He moved over to Laura's window and pulled it up, it moved smooth and silently. He dropped himself down onto her bed and had to wait until his head cleared before he could move again. When the world stopped spinning he checked to confirm the door was locked, moved to the closet and turned on that light only. He found her duffel without too much trouble and began filling it with her clothes. He grabbed the last two shoe boxes like she asked; he was proud of himself that he remembered. He moved into the bedroom and managed to get the rest of her clothes and everything else she asked for into the bag. He lifted the bag out of the room and pulled himself out after. He shut her window and stood up. Laura's bag weighed a fucking ton, but maybe they wouldn't have to come back to these dumps. The world spun a little, but he picked up the two duffel bags and began walking. He figured so long as he could put one foot in front of the other he'd damn well walk away from here.

Feeling like he got away pretty easily he picked up the pace. He knew it was a few miles down, and while his stomach was pretty queasy he knew Laura would be really worried. Fuck, he was worried. His bag was slung over his shoulder, his hand ached, his ribs ached, and Laura's bag was a bitch to carry because it was so fucking heavy. He saw Bob's up ahead and knew he could make it there. John got to the garage and let his knees give, sliding down the building. He apparently passed out again because it was much colder when he came back around. He struggled to his feet and began his trek again. After what felt like forever the hotel came into view; John decided that if there was a god this must have been a gift. He walked in, ignored the desk clerk, and caught the first elevator which opened. He searched for his room key and found it in the inside pocket of his denim jacket. He had no idea how it might have gotten there because the jacket had been lying in his room; however, he didn't really have the capacity to worry about it. He was so tired, and cold, and hurting – fuck he hurt, he was also really looking forward to wrapping his arms around Laura.

He made it to their room and leaned on the door with his forehead, when he got the spinning to slow he put the key into the door and pushed it open, he dragged the two duffel bags in and dropped them. As soon as she heard the door Laura jumped up and ran to John. There were tears streaming down her face, and it looked like she'd been crying for a while. She threw her arms around his neck and he wrapped his leaden arms around her holding on with all he had. She pulled back a little, "Oh my god! Love, fuck... baby come on.. "Laura took his hand and led him into the bathroom, she turned the light on and John cursed soundly while covering his eyes. "Turn that fucking light off! It's killing me god damnit!" Laura waited patiently and said in a shaky voice. "I need to see where your hurt John. You're practically covered in blood." He sighed and pulled his shirt off. "It's probably just my head." She shook her head, "well you obviously had a bloody nose, your lip is split, and…" she moved his hair around a little. "That fucking hurts you know, "John complained. "I am so sorry sweetheart, but I… Oh god, John, baby, I think you need stitches. There's a gash, a huge gash on the side of your head." He shook his head. "I'll be fine, just need some rest." Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and John immediately tensed. "I'll take care of it love, just relax." Laura closed the bathroom door, turning down the light in the process. She straightened her skirt and shirt and opened the door.

The hotel clerk had spoken with John and Laura a few times in the days they'd been staying there and he really liked them. He didn't miss John coming in covered in blood. He didn't know what it meant, but decided it couldn't be good for the young man. He called the local police station and asked them to send someone down to the hotel. Jim Braden liked working nights; most of the time it was quiet and when it wasn't it was very exciting. He and his wife had gotten along for years working on different shifts and had settled into a routine. He answered the dispatchers call and made his way to the hotel for the second time that week. As he got out of the car his mind wandered to Bender and he remembered the tip the kid had given him about the weird smell, dammit, he'd forgotten to pass that on. He needed to start writing things down.

As he walked in, he approached the desk clerk; "Evening…" he checked the name take, "Kirk. You called for someone to come down, what can I do for you?" Kirk spilled, and he liked to talk. "Well this week we've had a young couple staying with us. They didn't look like much I'll admit, they came in during my shift on Wednesday night. I always work the night shift you see. I was suspicious at first, I mean he looks a little like a hoodlum, but the young lady was so very cordial I was simply charmed. She has her credit card on file with us now. Her young man has been in and out, I suspect running errands for her." Kirk continued for a few more minutes before Braden interrupted him, "why did you call the police Kirk?" He flapped his hands like an excited bird, "Oh, my yes… I am so sorry to waste your time," Braden waved his hands trying to get the guy to give him actual information. "The young man came in just a short while ago; he was covered in blood sir. He looked badly injured, now it's not normally my place to interfere but well, he was carrying to large bags and really didn't look good, that much blood had to have a reason, right?" Braden nodded. "If you give me the room number and a name I will go check in on them, if it's nothing I will let you know ASAP, alright Kirk?" The desk clerk nodded emphatically. He began moving through the guest sheets in a file; Braden wondered why he didn't have this information ready. "Bender, the young man's name is Mr. Bender and the lady is Ms. Ashford." Braden shook his head, "that's fine; you said it was Mr. Bender who was injured right?" Kirk nodded again. Braden turned and walked to the elevator. So, Bender was still here, and he was injured.

Braden knocked on the hotel room door; after a minute a pretty girl opened it. She looked confused, then worried, "can I help you officer?" Her British accent was clear and pronounced. Braden smiled, so this was the girl Bender was getting back to, he thought to himself, good for you kid. "I'm looking for John Bender." With no hesitation she said, "He's indisposed at the moment sir, can you tell me what this is regarding?" Braden chuckled and thought; this girl is good. "Yeah, the desk clerk called because he was worried, said Bender came in covered in blood. Look hon, I'm not here to bust his chops or anything. I like John, it's a good thing it was me who answered the call too. Not all cops have a soft spot for hard headed kids. I would really like to know he's alright, and if not find out what I can do to help." Laura let out an enormous sigh, "thank all that's good" she opened the door far enough for Braden to come into the room which was spotless except for two large duffel bags, each with blood smears on them. "He's in the bathroom, but first I can perhaps give you some information." Braden leaned on the desk, "I'm all ears."

Laura gave him a brief overview of the pertinent information. She ended by telling him, "We were hoping to stay at the new place starting tonight or tomorrow. John said he needed to stop by his house to pick up some things, and he told me he'd get my things too since he doesn't trust my father. Not that he should be trusted, but that's neither here nor there. He's not told me what happened, but the light in the bathroom hurt him, he has a large gash down the side of his head, a bruise like a fist on his jaw, a split lip, a black eye, and when he took off his blood covered shirt I saw bruises all over his torso." As she finished cataloging the injuries tears came to Laura's eyes. "I should have gone to check on him rather than following his instructions to stay here." Braden stood up and moved towards the bathroom, "look miss, I doubt you could have done a thing to help him. If my guess is correct this is the work of his father; a bastard who should have been put away years ago, but no one has ever been willing to press charges." She nodded and told him it was probably better if she went in to talk to John first. She opened one of the bags and pulled out a t-shirt, then walked to the bathroom, knocked a few times then let herself in. After another minute she hollered, "Officer, please come help me!" Braden rushed in. John was lying on the floor like he'd passed out and fallen over. Laura had tears running down her face and said, "I can't wake him." She had wet a rag and wiped the majority of the blood away from his face and neck. Braden tried waking him then walked out, picked up the phone and called for an ambulance. Laura had gotten a clean t-shirt on John, which impressed Braden. She dug into the other bag, pulled out a pair of jeans, a blouse, and a pair of socks. "I'll be right back out." She went into the bathroom and returned within about 2 minutes. "Officer, I... I don't know the protocol here in the states, but please let me go with him. He's all I have, and I don't want to be anywhere without him, nor do I want him to awaken without me there. Please." Braden nodded, he'd gotten her name early on in the conversation. "I get it Laura, if anyone gives you trouble tell them you're his fiancé. That will get you past the nurses and doctors. I don't have any problem with you, I've heard John talk about you like I've never heard him talk about a girl before, so you're good as gold in my book."

John remained unresponsive as the paramedics checked him over. His blood pressure and heart rate were low, but steady and the gash on the side of his head was still seeping though it was more slowly than before. They weren't sure about internal damage but suspected at least two cracked or broken ribs. Braden told the paramedics that Laura was his fiancé and thus could answer any questions. It also allowed her to remain with him. They arrived at the hospital and aside from John's time in the ER she was by his side every step of the way.

She slept fitfully in an uncomfortable chair next to his bed through the night, but woke up around eight and told the nurses she had to run to work but would be back as quickly as she could. The nurse assured her they'd take good care of him and if he should wake up they'd let him know where she went. Laura caught a bus down to Bob's automotive; thankfully she didn't have to take multiple buses. She realized she was still in a bloody t-shirt and jeans from the night before, but at this point she couldn't do anything about it. It was just after nine when she arrived. Taking a deep steadying breath Laura opened the door and walked in with all the courage she could muster. Lorraine was at the counter talking to a technician who was working on what looked like a brand new computer. "I was wondering when you two were going to wander in. Where's Johnny? God, don't tell him I called him that, I think he hates it." Laura held up a hand to interrupt her. "I'm sorry to inform you, but John won't be in today, and I'd appreciate it if you could let me start tomorrow or Wednesday. John's in the hospital."

Lorraine's face paled, she walked away from the tech, and approached Laura, "dear god, is he OK?" Laura swallowed trying to keep the promise to herself that she wouldn't cry. "He will be. I believe it was his father's handy work. He returned home to pick up clothes and the like for both of us." Laura sank into one of the waiting room chairs and the unwanted tears fell down her face. "He left yesterday afternoon, promising to return quickly, but he didn't come back till the middle of the night and he was all beaten and bloody. I didn't…I don't want you to think badly of John or myself…"

Lorraine pulled the young girl into a hug. "How did you get here honey?" Laura basked in the affection before answering. "I took the bus from the hospital. There's a return bus in another 15 minutes that I'd like to catch, if that's alright. If you would like me to stay and start work today I will do my best, though I believe I am not really dressed for it." Lorraine stared at the girl. "Girl, you'll be focused on John and not remember a damn thing, no you'll go back to the hospital, but you won't take any damn bus – I'll drive you there myself." She stepped away from Laura, walked back around the counter and started straightening her desk. She hollered, "Bobby… Bobby come in here please, I need you fast." Laura sat back down in the chairs grateful that she wouldn't have to take the bus again. Bob entered the front office wiping his hands on a rag. "What is it woman, I swear, I do have to work you know." His grumbling was obviously good natured; he looked up and noticed Laura. "Oh, good; you're starting for us today? We certainly need the help." Lorraine proceeded to interrupt him, "No, she's not starting, and I'm leaving." Bob's eyebrow's shot up, "what's wrong?" Lorraine took a deep breath, "John's in the hospital, small one here took a bus down here to make certain we wouldn't think badly of the two of them. I'm taking her back." Bob nodded, "You go on; I'll be down soon as I can. I'll close for a long lunch and come soon as I finish what I'm working on." Lorraine nodded kissed her husband's cheek, walked over to Laura and offered her a hand up which she took gratefully. She'd slept poorly in the hospital being worried about John.

Laura was no stranger to hospitals between the times she'd had to be at them as a child and the number of times her mother was injured either by a man or her own idiocy, but never had Laura been so gut wrenchingly concerned. She was led to the big black Caddy Lorraine drove and taken back to the hospital in a fraction of the time it had taken her to get to Bob's Automotive. Once in the parking garage Laura had to take a minute to get her bearings before leading the older woman to John's room.

About the time Laura and Lorraine got to the hospital, John finally woke up he wasn't sure where he was at first. He did notice that his vision was pretty blurry and he felt like he'd been hit by a Mack truck. After a short few seconds he realized he was in a hospital, but he didn't know why. The last thing he remembered was getting back to the room and seeing Laura. His vision got a little clearer, but it was still kind of fuzzy. He searched the room and noticed several of Laura's things, but not the girl himself. John started getting agitated, wondering where his girl was. Within moments, a nurse came in to check his chart, "Oh good, you're awake. Now please don't try getting up just yet. Between your broken ribs and the cracked skull we'd really like you to continue resting. Your fiancé said she had an errand to run at Bob's and she'd be back as quickly as possible. I suspect you know what all that means better than I do, but she made me memorize her words. She's a darling little thing, who I might add has been very worried about you. I'll let the doctor know you're awake, I suspect he'll want to talk with you. There was also an officer with you, but I think he left last night. My name is Sally, ring that red button if you need anything and I'll be back in a bit."

John had no idea who the officer might have been, but he really didn't remember much beyond that horrible walk back from his parent's house. Fuck he really wanted to torch that piece of shit to the ground, preferably with his old man inside. Before he had the chance to get too irritated, or the doctor had time to arrive Laura and Lorraine walked in the room. Laura threw herself into his arms and started kissing all over his face. She'd made certain to stay was on the side of his uninjured ribs so she could hold on tight. "Don't ever do that to me again! You had me so worried babe; it was your old man, or mine…I know it was so don't bother arguing, and the son of a bitch cracked your skull. I want to kill him, dead. I didn't realize how violent I could be, but I spent the night thinking of more and more horrible ways to kill those fuckers."

John chuckled and kissed her head, "fuck babe, I love you. I was a little freaked to wake up without you here." She sat up, "Didn't the nurse give you my message? I left a message, promise." He reached up and put his hand over her mouth, "she gave me the message, fiancé?" John left his hand on her cheek, caressing her jaw. Laura blushed to her roots, and started to give him a reason, he covered her mouth again. "I liked it so shut up." John turned his head, "Don't mean to ignore you gorgeous." Lorraine who had taken a seat, chuckled; she'd been watching the kids. "Don't worry about me; this is better than a soap opera." John barked a laugh, Laura tried to get up, but John grabbed her, "you're not going anywhere, get comfy next to me, besides you look like shit, didn't you sleep?" Laura shrugged and made herself comfortable next to him; Lorraine piped up, "I doubt she got much, she might have nodded in and out, but no one gets good sleep while a loved one is unconscious John. Really, it's kind of a no brainer. Bob will be here in just a bit, I think he's planning on bringing you food; he thinks hospital food is poison, so I suspect he'll do something to keep you healthy."

No sooner had Laura gotten settled next to John, she put her head on his chest over his heart and promptly fell asleep. John stroked her hair and looked down at her fondly. He looked back up at Lorraine, "ya know it's creepy to stare right?" She laughed, "yeah, and I'm surprised you're being nice since I bet you'd kill for a smoke." John shook his head, "You have no idea. So she went down to the garage?" Lorraine nodded; "apparently she took the bus down because she didn't want us to think badly of you or her since she was supposed to start today and all. As if I'd think badly of her. She was shaking like a leaf and being very brave, you'd have been proud of her John. So what happened?" He looked at her with a stare that said he wasn't going to tell her until she arched a brow. "I am your boss and your landlady and I think of you like a son, so you damn well better tell me." John rolled his eyes and leaned his head against the pillows – "can I wait so I don't have to repeat what I remember multiple times?" Lorraine nodded, I'm gonna get some coffee, I'll be back in a few." John nodded, pulled Laura in close to him and closed his eyes; the lights were starting to hurt.

When he next opened his eyes Lorraine and Bob were talking to a doctor. He cleared his throat and they all turned towards him, the doctor started, "Good you're awake; how are you feeling?" John arched his brow, "kind of a dumb question there doc; I feel like I was hit by a truck – what all is wrong with me?" The doctor flipped through the chart and sighed; John responded, "Damn that sucks man, who sighs before answering that question." The doctor shook his head, "No, it's just you've got a lot, and I mean a lot, of calcium build up on your ribs." John shrugged, "so? What's that mean?" The doctor replied, "Well it means an awful lot of force went behind these new breaks, as if a large man kicked you at full force. You have 2 broken and 2 cracked ribs on the left side. The gash on the left side of your head required 10 stitches and left a fracture in your skull. The cast on your right hand had been split open, luckily the hand had begun to heal so there doesn't appear to be an additional damage. We removed the plaster cast and put a soft one on. That said, it's probably going to continue to hurt for a while and you should be careful with it." He closed the chart. "We'd like to keep at least through the night to confirm there will be no additional issues with the skull fracture. Do you have any questions?"

John nodded and stroked Laura's hair as he heard her whimper quietly. "A few, how come my vision is blurry and when can I get back to work?"

The doctor smiled, "I can tell you are a hard worker son, but I'd like you off for at least a week and nothing excessive for at least a few weeks after that. As for your vision, I suspect it has to do with the fracture, but I'll send for an ophthalmologist to check in on you. Your fiancé there is a little firecracker, all but hollered at the docs in the ER that they were being neither quick nor careful enough with you. That said; she's intense enough I bet she never actually has to raise her voice. I'd…, not that my opinion matters, but I'd keep a hold of her. She loves you an awful lot."

John continued stroking her hair, kissed the top of her head, and replied, "I know and I figure it makes me one lucky bastard."

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

John nodded in an out as Bob and Lorraine came and went throughout the day. Laura had slept most of the day cradled in John's arms. Just after 6:30 Lorraine and Bob came bustling back into the room. Bob put a bag on the table in front of John. "I brought you something to eat. You'll never retain your health and strength on the shit they'd feed you in here." John replied, "Thanks, but I'm supposed to get out of here tomorrow." Bob shook his head, "sorry kiddo, but you spiked a fever this afternoon and really freaked the docs out. They tried to get you to let go of Laura, but you were kind of hallucinating. Doc just finished telling Lorraine they want you at a regular temp for at least 24 hours before they're willing to release you." John looked around the room and asked, "Where are the girls?" Bob chuckled, "I'm so telling Lori you called her a girl, she'll probably squeal or something like that. They went to close out the hotel bill and get your stuff over to the apartment. No need wasting money that don't need wasted." John tried to sit up, "stop bein bullheaded John, there's a damn button to lift the bed." Bob groused good- naturedly and pressed the button sitting John up some; however, even the gentle movements of the bed made John's head spin a little, he closed his eyes and waited for the dizziness to cease. Bob asked, "you alright bud?" John grunted and then said, "soon as the world stops spinning like a fucking top I will be." Bob was worried, the kid's eyes still weren't right, and he was still getting dizzy. He promised the doc he'd watch for just those things.

Laura left when she could get out of Johns' arms. His bout with high fever and hallucination had scared her and Lorraine knew it, especially since John apparently gripped her so tightly he'd left bruises. Lorraine knew just what the girl needed, a little bit of mothering and a lot of time. She was pacing around the room when Lori spoke up, "Laura, want to come see the place you and John will be managing for us?" Laura's head jerked up in a similar way to Bender's, so much so that Bob choked out a laugh and told her she was spending too much time with him. His wife smacked his arm, kissed his cheek and told him they'd be back and to keep John company while they were gone.

What Bob and Lorraine had not told the kids was they'd closed the shop for the day; painted and furnished their new place. They'd been in and out all day with no explanation; both John and Laura assumed they went to the shop. Lorraine made a small production of giving her keys and having Laura open the door. They hadn't done much to decorate, but Lorraine insisted that was Laura and John's job. The apartment was cleaned, freshly painted, and fully furnished. Tears came to Laura's eyes and she spun back around, throwing herself into Lorraine's arms. "Thank you so much, I don't… no one… I…" Lorraine stroked the small girl's hair. "I figured you and Johnny needed someplace to put him up where we could all keep an eye on him, and where he wasn't going to get hurt again. Now don't get all choked up, you are gonna be working for me anyway, so I have a few questions for you, Missy."

The two sat on the couch as Lorraine prodded her to spill all the info on her life. There were parts which made the middle aged woman mad as a hornet and other places that made her want to cry; in the end, she supposed Laura was lucky to have found someone like John. Someone who'd want, and be able to, take care of her. They sat for a little while longer before heading back; Laura insisted she wouldn't sleep in the new apartment till John was with her. Her reaction made Lorraine chuckle because she knew she felt the same way about Bobby before he knew what hit him.

John was released two days later with strict instructions. Bob and Lorraine took them to the apartment only to watch a similar reaction to Laura's, but without the tears – of course. Lorraine and Laura made dinner while Bob and John got their cable hooked up and got the duffle bags into their bedroom. Bob ordered John to "sit the fuck down" when he stumbled a second time, after helping for about an hour. Bob spun around to look in John's eye's, "Boy, I need you healthy and back at work one of these days, so follow your doctor's damned orders will you? I could have gotten both those bags. If I remember correctly, your dumb ass carried them 4 or 5 miles rather than calling anyone for help. Oh, and in case you crack your damned skull and want to get something all bloody here is a key to the shop, do it indoors where there's a phone and a little warmth." Bob handed John a key to the shop. "Now before you argue with me, you're gonna be back in school before you know what hits you and since I've met you I'm guessing you'll work whatever damned hours you can." The comment blew all the steam right out of John's argument and he sat down. Within a few minutes he was sound asleep on the couch.

When dinner was ready they woke John and let him get oriented before making him eat something. Shortly after dinner Bob and Lorraine left and told them both to get some rest. John had settled himself back on the couch and proceeded to flip through channels for a while. Laura cleaned the kitchen bringing John both water and medication when she was done. She put the water down next to him and handed him the medicine bottles. "I know you're probably in pain, so how about we forgo the arguing about whether or not you need those." She kissed his cheek softly and put her head on his shoulder. "You are never allowed to scare me like that again. Ok? Please, if Officer Braden hadn't come along I would have had to get you to the hospital on my own and he made it easier on me."

Bender looked down at his girl, snuggled against him and asked, "Braden was the officer? Damn, I've been wondering about that, why the hell was he there?"

Laura bit her lip, "apparently the desk clerk saw you all bloody and got worried. Don't worry, I smoothed it all over so there aren't any questions." John shrugged, "wasn't really worried, I forgot about it. He ever check back in?" Laura shrugged this time, "not while I was there and awake, who the hell knows what Bob and Lorraine said if they talked to him." They both laughed at that. "I cannot believe they did all this, blows my mind." Laura nodded, "I was kind of stupefied when Lorraine showed all this to me – course I think she asked for my entire life story out of it, but I didn't know adults, you know… acted like this." John threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head, "yeah, I didn't realize it either, but fuck, we have our own place. No one else to deal with, how fucking cool is this?" Laura stood up and pulled John's hand. "I want to go to bed, with you…. "

"How can I turn down an offer like that?" John smirked and followed her to their new bedroom.

As days turned into weeks both John and Laura healed and blossomed in ways neither of them expected. Lorraine insisted that Laura get health insurance, go to the doctor, and she refused to take no for an answer. So Laura was back under medical care and they were working on healing some of the damage to her back.

Laura began getting worried as school approached, one day John couldn't hold back any more, "What's got you so fucking jittery about school?" Laura started picking up the apartment with quick jerky motions, which were always a cue to John that she was feeling something intensely and it was rarely a good sign. He took a deep breath and walked over to her. "Seriously babe, what's the issue?"

Laura shook her head, "It's nothing, or really it's just silly."John grabbed her hands causing her to look up, "If it's nothing, then you should have no trouble telling me, right?"

"It's just… It's just…school is going to be starting, and…and you were with Claire when school ended. How are your friends going to take you dating me? I really liked your breakfast club, but a lot of the guys you smoke with well, they scare the hell out of me. And… I don't know, I'm just worried that you aren't going to like me anymore or something." Laura stumbled through the words trying to look at the floor, but John wouldn't let her. He kept moving so she was looking at him while he was talking. When she finished he sat on the couch, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him.

"Look, I'm gonna go out on a limb and repeat myself here. I like you, fuck I think I might just love you. I am living with you. Do you really think some chick in a short skirt is going to turn my head from the out and out hottie I live with? Seriously? You and I get along better than anyone else I've ever met. We don't generally fight, and when we do it's done before we go to bed. You don't bitch about my habits, have some evil way of making me do shit like pick up my things. And you are great in bed. I don't know what it is about you, but you are stuck with me babe. I'm not gonna stop liking you, got me?" Laura snuggled into his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed it softly.

"I love you."

John smirked at her, "Yeah, I know. And as for all those other pesky worries – Brian and Ally are the only two left from the breakfast club, and I am pretty sure they don't care who I date. Besides we can have them over here some evening and they'll love the place."

Laura put her head on John's shoulder, "I love the weekend, just having you here makes the day better." John smirked and replied, "Well I'm glad you like having me here, since it's the first place I have ever lived that I looked forward to coming home to."

John kissed her head, "I still think you're crazy, but you're crazy seems to match mine, so it works out. Believe me, I don't want to start school on Monday, but you talked me into it so you can't get out of it either. There's something else going on, when are you going to tell me about it?"

Laura shook her head, "I don't want to jinx what we have here."

John grabbed her chin and kissed her softly, "ain't gonna jinx nothing by talking to me."

She started picking at her nails, "I've been getting worried about my dad. I know he threw me out and all, but well, I've been investigating emancipation because I don't want him to ever be able to touch me again."

John pulled her in close, "I can totally get behind that idea. So what did you find out?"

Laura took a deep breath and tried to remember all she'd learned, "Well I applied for emancipation, and I think because we are living together and doing well I should get it. If I should happen to get pregnant I am automatically medically emancipated, but the regular forms still had to be submitted. Lorraine helped me fill them out and get them in the mail. You're 18 so it's easier for you. Your parents can't swoop in and ruin your life."

John chuckled, "they did enough to ruin my life up to now. Ok, so you are applying for emancipation; what can I do to help?"

Laura shook her head, "You can't do anything right now, and short of me getting knocked up, it's all up to the courts."

John tilted his head, "what do you mean short of you getting knocked up?"

"It's nothing love, nothing I would force upon you. I should go get dinner started."

John grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his lap. "Dinner can wait; I want to know what you were talking about."

She put the top of her head against his chest and quietly answered his question, "From everything I've read it's easier to get emancipated if you are pregnant or have a kid."

She blew out the breath she'd been holding – "like I said John, there's nothing to be done except wait now that the paperwork is in. I don't want to trap you, and I didn't think you wanted kids."

John kissed the top of her head without responding. "I'm gonna shower and get out of these work clothes. I'll be out shortly." Laura pushed the idea to the back of her mind where all her crazy ideas went. She started some chicken in a skillet and made a large salad. She turned on some music and danced around the kitchen a little as she cooked and cleaned. She'd finished the emancipation paperwork with Lorraine today and with any luck she'd be free of Mike legally sooner rather than later. She pretended she was already married to John and they didn't have to worry about any of the nonsense she had to worry about in real life. She was in a cropped tank top and a very short skirt, dancing around and singing at the top of her lungs to some pop song. John stopped in the doorway to watch her with a smile on his face.

He looked at the spot next to his chair there was a cold coke and a packed bowl. The smell from the kitchen was great; the place was clean, if a little messy. Another song came on, this one with a far more grinding beat. Laura looked even hotter dancing to this one. He couldn't help himself and had to walk up behind her. "Watching you is turning me on woman, you must be some kind of witch no other explanation, I mean besides how hot you are anyway." He'd wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "John! I am trying to cook supper – ye must let me go." Laura laughed.

John shook his head, "nope, you turned off the stove and the salad looks great." He kissed her neck, "and I missed you today, how come you didn't come down to the shop?" Laura was practically moaning, "do you really expect me to be coherent if you keep doing that?"

He put his hands under her shirt and began caressing her as he nibbled on his neck. "What? This?" He continued his ministrations until Laura she couldn't take any more and begged him to finish. Afterwards John made a joke about fucking in every room in the apartment which caused Laura to smack him. He didn't think he'd laughed so much in his whole life as he did around her. They laughed as they ate dinner. "As for why I didn't come in today; I am finishing a special project for Lorraine. She's been working on entering things into that computer and never got around to finishing it. Said I could take it home and get a jumpstart on the sort of stuff she might ask of me to make up for the hours I'll be missing. She's gonna try keeping me at 35 or above hours so we don't get too tight with money." John was grinning at her as she finished her speech. "What's the grin for?"

He shook his head, "you, you're cute. I was just wondering if you took a breath or anything. Should we climb into bed and watch TV till we sack out since school starts tomorrow and all?" Laura sneered a little, "I really wish I could forget that Shermer High existed."

John tweaked her nose, "yeah, the whole idea of high school sucks, but you worked hard as anyone to convince me that a fucking diploma was my ticket out."

When Laura finished cleaning up from supper, John was already lying on their bed. She sauntered, as much as she could, into the room and winked at him. He stopped watching TV and watched her getting ready for the next day and for bed. She kept up a running dialogue, asking his opinion which was generally, something along the lines "who gives a fuck and you'll look better in nothing."

When Laura finished putting together her book bag, and laying out clothes for the morning, she pulled on one of John's t'shirts, set coffee for the morning and came back to crawl in bed next to John. "Thank god we have an air conditioner in this room."

John was watching her with a smirk and a leer, "I don't know, if it was hotter could I get you naked faster?" Laura laughed at him, "You get me naked fast enough when it's chilly; I don't think you need any help." John's eyes widened, "really? Then strip for me?"

Laura got herself settled next to John, slid under the sheet then pulled off his t-shirt and threw it on the floor. She turned to him with an arched brow, "fast enough?" He laughed and shook his head, "you should always be naked. Can I make that a new rule in the house?" Laura smacked him, "Yeah, I'm gonna collect rent or answer when Bob or Lorraine stops in, not to mention anyone from school. I think maybe it should wait till we are in the bedroom." John pouted, "You ruin all my fun."

"Yeah, that's what I do, forcing you to have great sex on a regular basis and everything. God I'm a terrible bitch. Maybe I should start sleeping on the couch or something." Laura said all of this with a great big smirk on her face. John responded by pouncing on her and kissing her breath away. The fell asleep tangled in each other and very happy to forget about school till the morning.

Morning came terribly early for the couple, but Laura got up and poured coffee, tried to wake John, jumped in the shower and brought two cups of coffee into the bedroom where she flicked on the light. "Come on John you've got to get up; school starts today."

He rolled over and groaned, "Can't we just skip it and go tomorrow, no one ever does anything on the first day anyway?"

Laura threw a pillow at his head, "Yeah, I wish. I have to be really on the ball if I want this emancipation thing to go through. I'm not giving up smoking, but I can't do it at school and stuff like that, and I can't miss days if I don't have to, and I'd really like a ride babe." She laid down on the bed next to him and kissed his neck. "Come on, let's shock everyone." He chuckled, "with enticement like that how could I say no?" Bender sat up and drank his coffee while watching his girlfriend get dressed.

She gave him a kiss and left the room telling him to get his arse in gear or she wouldn't make him any more coffee. John lit a cigarette and pulled on clothes and was ready to leave at the same time as Laura. She shook her head and kissed his cheek, handing him a travel mug full of coffee. "Keep treating me like this and I'm gonna get spoiled." John mumbled as he started the truck.

Laura smiled, "I do what I can, and if I have the opportunity to spoil you I will. You deserve it." John lit another cigarette, "yeah, yeah, keep that shit to yourself at school, can't have my entire high school reputation ruined cause I fell in love. He winked at her and she laughed, promising to only refer to him as "that asshole Bender". As the blocks to the school got closer, Laura got quieter, Bender almost overlooked it until he noticed her picking at her nails in that jerky way she did when she was upset. He pulled into a McDonald's parking lot near the school, "what's got you all jittery? I thought we worked it all out last night."

Laura started to say it's nothing until John cocked an eyebrow before she even got the words out, "I had a weird dream that Mike tried to take me out of school, to take me to his place so I am afraid his car is gonna be there." John kissed her head, "look, even if he is there – ain't no way he's taking you anywhere – k? So take a deep breath and give me a kiss." He held her for a minute then put the truck in gear and drove the last block to school. He stared at the school with a look of irritation mixed with weariness. Laura grabbed his hand, "Ya know, you don't have to be anybody you don't want to be, you've got me – fuck the rest of them. She kissed him very sweetly and then had to wait for John to open the door. It required a kick and the one time she'd tried putting enough force behind it she ended up in tears so now John opened the door for her instead, he didn't mind cause it was kind of a jump down and he preferred picking her up to letting her jump.

Laura put her hand on his chest, "do I even get to see you before we head to work at later?" John thought about it, "uhm, I doubt it, but I don't remember either." Laura rolled her eyes and pulled out his schedule, looked it over and handed it to him. "I assumed you could give a shit about it so I stuck your schedule with mine on the off chance I might care." She gave him a snarky smile and stole a cigarette. "We have around 20 minutes, what do you want to do?"

John grinned, "we could get back in the truck and have a quicky." Laura laughed, and if you'd gotten up on time we could have had a quicky in the comfort of our bed." She started walking towards the bleachers because she wanted to sit down. "Hey, you didn't tell me that when you were nagging me to wake up." Laura stuck her tongue out at him, "oh you heard me nagging you? Does that mean tomorrow I get to sleep in and you'll get the coffee?" John laughed, "hell no, if you leave it up to me you won't get any of your precious coffee and we'll probably be late." Laura grumbled that he was probably right and she liked waking him anyway. They arrived at the bleachers and Laura took a seat and waved her boyfriend away towards his friends.

Laura finished smoking her cigarette and headed towards the office. She wanted to put in her change of address, but the idea scared her a little. What if there was trouble? She tried to remain calm and slid into her know it all persona, kind of the way John had slid into Bender as they walked onto school grounds. She took a deep breath and walked into the school office and smiled at the secretary. "Good morning, I need to put in a change of address."

The secretary smiled at the girl. She couldn't remember her name, but she remembered the incident last year when she'd arrived battered. "Here you are sweetie; fill this out and you are all good. How was your summer?" Laura filled out the card then looked up and smiled, "It was lovely, more so than expected really." Laura pushed the card toward the woman, "I've one other question." The secretary put the card on her desk then turned back giving Laura her full attention, "Shoot."

"Well my schedule is only half day and I've procured a job – do I need any paperwork for leaving school grounds?" The secretary took Laura's schedule, looked it over, went to her desk and pulled out a card. She sat down and typed up some information then returned to the counter and handed it to Laura. "Have your employer sign the back of this and keep it with you. Is there anything else?" Laura smiled and thanked her then left the office. The clock on the wall said she had another 10 minutes before the bell rang so she slipped back outside, and wandered back to the bleachers. She lit a cigarette and before she'd taken a second hit two people sat on either side of her.

Allison and Brian had met up near the front of the school and struck up a conversation. Brian was simply not interested in talking with his old friends and Allison was really happy that he approached her. She'd been feeling lonely since Andy broke it off a few weeks before. He'd been at school for less than a week when it happened, at first Alli was really hurt, then she got pissed. She was still there, and seeing Brian for some reason made it all easier. She kind of hoped Bender showed up, but she didn't hold much hope since it was the first day of school. The two had been wandering away from the preps, princesses and athletes on the steps when they saw Laura walk toward the bleachers. She looked a little different, but her cane was a dead giveaway.

Brian was as happy to see Laura as he had been Ally. He'd liked her from the start, in part because she typically understood his science and math talk, but mostly because she got everyone and didn't judge them. He hadn't talked to any of the members of the club since school let out. It had hurt his feelings, but after hearing about the summer Allison had he supposed he couldn't complain especially not since she came right up and hugged him.

Allison nudged Laura, "How was your summer?" Laura smiled, "more exciting than expected – wait here one sec? I'll be right back – watch my bag." Laura moved pretty quickly over to the group Bender was standing with – Ally and Brian looked at one another then back towards Laura who had now reached Bender. She grabbed his arm and pointed back towards them, and then began walking back to them with his arm around Laura's shoulders and her hand in his back pocket. Laura started to climb back to the seat she'd been sitting in, when Bender picked her up and set her on the higher riser. "When are you gonna learn to ask for help?" Bender said with his trade mark smirk on; "probably the same time you will, and I could have gotten here on my own." John shrugged, "yeah, but it gave me a great excuse to grab you." She shook her head. They had not discussed how they would tell the other members of the Breakfast Club about their relationship.

Allison looked between them again then asked, "So what's going on with you two?" Bender arched a brow, "why?" Allison shrugged, "well I thought we were going to, you know, discuss the summer and shit – things have obviously changed some so throwing something out there to begin." That was a long enough speech from Allison that Laura felt the need to diffuse the situation. She looked at John who shrugged and lit a cigarette, thought about it, handed the smoke to Laura and lit another. The interaction didn't go unnoticed by Brian or Allison.

Laura spoke up, "Well to make a very long story short enough to get out before the bell rings, John and I are living together. I would also like to cordially invite you over." John smirked and said, "cordially?" Laura stuck out her tongue at him and simply said, "got a problem with my English?" John shook his head, "not so long as you don't mind my laughing my ass off at some of your words. It was Laura's turn to shrug, "I'm used to it, Sweetheart." She turned to Allison, looked at Brian so he knew he was included and said, "I can explain some more of the story in a more conducive location."

Allison explained her breakup with Sporto which made John really mad. He decided the richies should simply never interbreed since they were all such assholes. Just as he started to rant the bell rang. Laura stood up and started to walk around to the steps when John grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. He gave her a very sweet kiss and said, "Remember I don't see you again till we leave for work at 11." Laura told him about the card, but suggested he bring in a note from Bob since the office was not as likely to believe him. He retorted that he didn't really give a shit and he'd get to it eventually. John walked Laura to class, kissed her again which caused more than a few whispers and ambled down the hall to his first class.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated - life and writers block gets in the way way. I hope to get this tied up in the next few chapters - however, it's the end of the term so bear with me. I hope you like this - it's a bit gentler than some of the other chapters - though a little steamy.

I own nothing, really sadly nothing - certainly not the character of Bender.

Laura's first class was English which she was looking forward to since it was British Literature. The teacher walked in and the class didn't quiet down at all, which was annoying, but typical of any class at Shermer. The class went by quickly; Laura was glad she was in the front of the class so she didn't have to try and pay attention through the annoying students who were more interested in talking about their summers then hearing about Beowulf. Her next class was boring, but she was pretty sure nothing could make Economics entertaining. It was her last class she was dreading; gym was never her favorite class, and while she had a pass because of her disability she was still required to dress and do what she could. The locker room was kind of a nightmare for her, and always had been.

She walked into the locker room, picked out a locker and started to put her things away. She pulled out shorts, shoes and one of John's old shirts out of her bag – laying them on the bench behind her next to her cane. A bunch of rich preppie girls came in laughing – one of them stopped and looked Laura up and down with a look of derision.  
>"Aren't you that foreign girl?"<p>

Laura chuckled and in her most crisp British accent commented, "I was born here in the States but spent many of my formative years in England. Why do you ask?" The girl stared at her and said, "I just thought you were an exchange student or something." Laura rolled her eyes, "Foreign exchange students tend to come from countries where English is not their primary language."She then turned back to her locker to finish getting ready. The girls walked past her, knocking her cane down and muttering something Laura chose to ignore. She changed quickly, put a pad lock on her locker, grabbed her cane and walked out into the gym. There were only a few students milling around. Laura looked around for the teacher and saw he was still in his office. She moved as smoothly and quickly as possible towards the office. She heard and out of the corner of her eye saw a few more students coming in. She tried to move a little faster and missed the rope lying across her path. Her cane caught the rope, she tripped, landed fully upon her injured leg and fell to her hands and knees. It seemed like every student in the room pointed and laughed, Laura felt humiliated, but she picked herself up dusted herself off and walked with her head high into the teacher's office.

Mr. Grimstead was nothing like his name. He was generally a fairly jovial man, teaching kids how to be fit was something he truly enjoyed doing; however he very much disliked the clique's Shermer housed. He'd seen Laura fall and was up and on his way out the door when she came in, "Are you alright Miss?"

Laura nodded and tried to calm herself, the laughing had really upset her and she didn't know why, it's not like she hadn't been laughed at before. Maybe she was just tired, the day had been kind of trying and she really wanted to see John. "I'm fine." Mr. Grimstead looked the young girl over; she looked like she was on the verge of tears and she had managed to skin her knee. "No you're not; you've skinned your knee up pretty good. Let me clean it up for you." Laura sighed and wished she didn't have such thin skin on her knee, why couldn't it just be scared up like the rest of her leg. "If you give me a towel or something it will probably be fine, it happens almost anytime I fall."

He had already gotten his first aid kit out and was kneeling next to her when she finished speaking, "Well I think you should stop falling down then. I'll bet you came to bring me paperwork right? Miss?" Laura chuckled and felt more at ease, "Yeah, I'm working on that, and my name is Laura Ashford. I did indeed come to bring you paperwork." She handed him her disability paperwork. He set it on his desk without looking at it, and continued to work on her knee. He wiped it down with alcohol, put antibiotic ointment on it, and then covered it with an extra-large band-aid. He sat back on his knees and said, "Why don't you just tell me what your physical capabilities are."

Laura was a little startled, but recovered quickly, "I can obviously walk albeit slowly most of the time or I lose my balance. It's been years since I tried to actually run though the last attempt left me convinced the pain wasn't worth it. I can pull myself up a rope or a tree, but I have trouble kicking things, again there's the balance issue. I can walk without the cane although I have a fairly pronounced limp. My lower back prevents me from standing for more than about 15 minutes at a time, but I think concerning physical fitness that's really about all I can think of." Mr. Grimstead nodded, well there are lots of activities you will not be able to participate in; will you be alright with that?" Laura smiled, "I've been in this condition or worse from my first memories, Sir. In fact, this is the first time in my life I've been deemed able bodied enough to participate in phys ed at all."

Mr. Grimstead stood up, opened his door and hollered out, "Start running laps. If you have some reason you can't run, you better have paperwork. I meant start NOW!" All the students turned towards the teacher startled at first then they slowly began running laps. He closed the door and turned back to Laura, "gimme a minute to go over your papers and I'll work out a plan so you aren't sitting bored in the bleachers." He smiled at her and Laura decided she liked this teacher, but didn't want to get on his bad side. After ten minutes of him reading and writing he stood up opened the door hollered for the students to start walking rather than running and he'd be out in a minute. He handed a couple of pages, "read this over, and if you think you can do it we'll make this your program for the year." He walked out of the office quietly closing the door. Laura read over the work and while not easy she thought she might just be in better shape at the end of it. She wasn't sure whether she should wait or head out so she decided on the easier option of waiting.

After about 20 minutes he came back in and told Laura she could head to the locker room. She walked past the other students who appeared to be stretching and gave thanks to the teacher letting her get changed first. As she finished changing her female classmates came in. "Why'd you get out of all that bullshit," asked a girl who looked like she hadn't broken a sweat in her life. Laura shrugged, "Perhaps because he had to write up a bunch of paperwork." The girl rolled her eyes and turned to her friends, "Geez, the special treatment they give some trash. Aren't you dating Claire Standish's ex-special project?" Laura closed and locked her locker, looked at the girl who spoke to her and walked away without answering. For a moment she was afraid they'd keep bothering her, but no one followed and Laura let out her breath. She was exhausted and now her knee hurt. She walked to the front doors and walked out; more than grateful she could get back to what felt like her real life. She didn't see John anywhere, but figured he'd either meet her by the bleachers or be there already.

John walked away from Laura and decided he'd try going to his classes for at least a few days. It would make Laura and Lorraine happy with him. He wasn't making any promises, but figured it would shake people up. It was a good to shake these stupid fuckers up. It was his last year, hell half year. He so fucking didn't want to be here anymore. John had to take history, English, art of all fucking things. He walked into the class, went to the very back and took a seat. He was dying for a smoke but figured he'd skip out before his next class.

The classes were as dull as hell but he figured the girls would be proud he stayed both straight and awake through all three of the silly ass requirements he needed to get his fucking diploma. He sweet talked the art teacher into letting him check out a little early. Left the building by the side door and wandered over to the bleachers. A bunch of his buddies were already there probably stoned out of their mind. John didn't like being stoned at work, which sucked cause school had been a huge drag.

A chorus of "Bender!" was heard. Someone passed him a joint and he took one hit and passed on any more. Jonesy was there leaning against the bleachers, "what, you going straight on us Bender?" He was still pissed about seeing Bender all buddy buddy with a cop. Bender rolled his eyes, "fuck off Jones, I got a job and being stoned while under a car is just stupid." Just as the guys finished smoking they all took off for the lunch room. Jonesy was no longer a student, but he was the dealer for most of the burn-outs. He wandered over to his car and watched Bender.

John was sitting on the bleachers when he saw Laura walk out of the front doors. He couldn't help but smile as he saw her walking towards him. She wasn't the hottest chick he'd ever been with, but she was hot. He noticed her leaning heavily on her cane and wondered what happened; however he knew she'd want to sit and have a smoke before going anywhere so he just enjoyed the view of her coming to him. He stared at her thinking about her great rack and awesome smile.

Laura noticed John sitting on the bottom bleacher watching her. He had a smirk on his face and she took the time to admire just how gorgeous he was. She still couldn't believe she'd landed a guy like him. She really didn't give a shit if he drank or smoked pot since he didn't use heroin, coke, or meth. He was a hard worker when he cared about the work and he could be utterly charming when he felt like it. She knew her smile kept growing as she moved closer, and she started to move faster. She got up to him with a grin on her face and said, "God it's fucking nice to see you gorgeous."

John smirked, stood up and kissed her thoroughly. "Nice to see you too baby." He passed her a cigarette, took her bag off her shoulder and sat down. He took a cigarette out for himself and lit them both. "So I could get used to that reaction each time we see each other, how was your morning of hell?" Laura took several hits off of her cigarette and said, "how about I'm just glad it's over and I am not sure how I am going to survive several months of the idiots here in Shermer."

John laughed and pulled Laura under his arm and kissed her head. "So… I noticed you limping babe, what happened?" Laura looked up at him and chuckled, "I always limp John, are you really that slow?" He smirked and replied, "fuck off, you know I meant more than usual. When and where did you fall, and don't skirt the question small one."

Laura pitched her cigarette butt under the bleacher and punched John's arm. "Small one? Really? Fuck off. Anyway I fell in gym class, fucking tripped on a rope walking into the teacher's office. It was nothing." Laura said all of this very quickly, "Let's head out, we can stop at home grab some lunch and I can change." John rolled his eyes, "lunch is great and we can grab it on the way to the shop. What the fuck do you need to change for? You look fine." Laura closed her eyes, "I just want to go home, ok? Please, even if it's just for a minute."

John didn't know what the hell was going on with his girlfriend but it was beginning to piss him off. He stood up and started walking toward the truck. Laura looked at his back and sighed, she didn't know what had pissed him off but she really didn't feel like dealing with it she was really tired and feeling insecure and she was trying to give John a break. He listened to her bitch and made her feel better all the time. Laura got up, grabbed her backpack and walked to the truck at her own pace, by the time she got there he'd started it and was sitting in the driver's seat smoking a cigarette and looking pissed off.

They didn't speak the whole drive home. John pulled in, got out slamming the door in the process and walked in the building as though Laura didn't exist, or need help getting out. She slid over to the driver's side door and got out. Laura was beginning to get pissed off, she had no idea why he was being such a dick when she was just trying to keep her head together.

She got into the apartment and dropped her bag, got to the sofa and dropped down suddenly exhausted. She got up and walked into the bedroom, slipped on a sock and fell into a heap on the floor. It was a last straw sort of episode and while her tears had nothing whatsoever with scraping her other knee up on the side of a book case, it was more the grand total of the day. Laura pulled herself up onto the bed and collapsed, trying to be quiet as she sobbed. She just felt like she could never get ahead, and if she did it was twice the work others had to do.

John walked into the apartment and over to the kitchen, he Laura had picked up lunchmeat and chips as well as fruit and he figured he'd get a jump start on lunch. He pulled everything out watching Laura dropped onto the sofa like she weighed a million pounds. He figured she'd tell him when she was ready. He was in the bathroom when he heard the tell tale sounds of her falling. John took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom, stunned at what he saw. He walked out of the room, picked up the phone and called Bob's. Lorraine answered the phone, trying and failing to sound polite and there for the caller. "Hey gorgeous, it's John. Something's wrong with Laura, I think the day was too much or something. Can you give at least her, if not both, of us a break today? I'll come in, but I need some time." He listened for a minute and thanked her then quietly hung up the phone.

He sighed, wiped his hand over his face, and wished she'd just fucking talk to him rather than reach the point of no return over and over again. He toed off his boots and wandered quietly into the bedroom. He laid down next to Laura, wrapping his body around hers and said, "Sweetheart, want to give me some clue what's happening? Did I fuck up somehow?" Laura shook her head vigorously. "Well that's good to know; gonna talk to me?" Laura flipped slowly over and buried her face in John's chest, "I don't want to bother you with every little thing that happens. You shouldn't have to carry all my crap along with all of yours." John lifted her tear stained face up, he hated to see her cry. "Baby girl, you are never a burden to me, I would rather you talk to me then let me stew about what the fuck the problem is. I called us off work. Lorraine assumed we weren't coming in today since it was the first day of school anyway."

Laura kissed John softly, "thank you." She slid off the bed and let her jeans drop; John immediately noticed the blood on her knee. "Is that what happened when you just fell?" Laura shrugged and nodded at the same time. And the band-aid over the other knee?" She whispered, "gym class" and proceeded to strip off her clothes and pull herself back into bed. "I'm fucking exhausted, and feel like I hate the fucking world." Laura commented quietly.

John kissed her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist bringing her on top of him. "Look, I'm sorry I was a dick, but not talking to me is really not gonna help that particular issue. What made the day so crappy? If you tell me, I will tell you all about the crappy classes I actually fucking attended for your cute ass." Laura started telling John about her day and fell asleep on his chest before she got to phys ed which was really the worst of it. John knew she was going to be asleep when she started slurring her words. It made him chuckle, and he decided a nap was just thing to improve the day so he pulled a cover over the two of them and closed his eyes.

Laura woke a couple of hours later snuggled up to her handsome boyfriend. She smiled, feeling much better though she knew she didn't want to go back to school. She liked her teachers, but the students were such jackasses – maybe she should work on adopting John's give a fuck attitude. She just had to figure out how. Laura slid quietly and quickly out of bed so she didn't wake John. She couldn't keep the smile off her face; he looked so peaceful and young when he was asleep. She looked at the time; it was 3 in the afternoon, so she pulled some ground beef for supper and sat down on the couch to do some homework. She wrote down everything she needed to do for the week and thanked both John and Lorraine for the afternoon off.

After a couple of hours of homework and organizing Laura snuck back into the bedroom and started kissing John's shoulders and back since he was asleep on his stomach. She snaked her hands up underneath his shirt and started kissing his lower back when she finally got a groan from him and he rolled over. He blinked a couple of times - his girlfriend was positioned on the bed like she was going to pounce on him. Before he got a single word out, she stretched out on top of him and began kissing his neck. "Well hello sweetheart," he said in a voice already husky with lust. He moved his hand up the back of her shirt and pulled away from her long enough to pull it off. John immediately went to work on her pert breasts. He loved the reactions he got out of her, she was so sensitive. She nipped the area near his collarbone causing him to moan a little. Laura was turned on just being near him, having him awake, moving, and using his mouth as he was made her a puddle of lust. She pushed the skirt she had on off her hips and kicked it off then she went to work on his pants. John was so focused on her breasts that he didn't notice her getting into his pants until her hand slid inside forcing an uncontrolled buck by him. He grabbed her hand, "slow down, just a bit or you'll have me cumming in my pants babe." He let her pull the pants and boxers off before she stretched out on the bed and beckoned him to her.

John had never been with a girl who while being inexperience was so eager and learned his "spots" so quickly. Maybe it was just that the girls he'd been with had expected him to do all the work and Laura was truly interested in him having the best time possible. The two of them spent the next several hours giving one another every possible pleasure. John was hovering over Laura, his control a wisp as she whimpered and moaned and with a single move from John she spilled over the edge taking him with her. He laid over her panting. Laura whispered in his ear, "now I need another nap."

John rolled over laughing. "Does that mean we're skipping dinner or are you thinking I'm gonna cook?"Laura elbowed him in the ribs, "I know you aren't completely clueless so don't start." John propped himself up on his elbow and looked at his beautiful girlfriend, all mussed up from his loving. Laura looked over, "what on earth are you smirking about?" John kissed her gently, "I was just thinking you're really hot, especially after sex. As for cooking, I can open cans, but I thought you had something in mind." Laura kissed his chest. "I did have something in mind, spaghetti and salad."

Laura sat up and grabbed John's t-shirt off the floor, pulled it on and sashayed out of the bedroom. "Hey I thought you were napping! And that's my shirt." Laura laughed, "you just pointed out that I don't get dinner if I don't get up, and you have a million t-shirts, put another one on – besides, according to you I look better in your clothes than you do." John pulled on his jeans and padded out to the living room. He took a drink of his now warm coke and said, "you do look better in my clothes, but you look even better than that out of them, and why should I dirty another shirt?"

Laura had started the ground beef cooking in a pan and was cutting an onion. She looked back at him, "It's ok, I like outfit you have on now, makes you look very sexy." John shook his head and told her she was crazy but he'd take it. He flipped on the TV, so what were you doing while I apparently slept, cause you were wide awake when you woke me up. Laura chuckled, "I did my homework and organized my stuff for the semester, and thank you so much for getting us the afternoon off. I was just so frazzled after school. I forgot how much I despise most of the arrogant pricks who attend there. I mean if I had to hear about one more trip to Europe I was going to slit someone's throat with my binder. I've had the overwhelming desire to being talking about the clubs in London since they were you know stuck with their families…"

John turned the sound on the tv off at first, then when she didn't stop ranting he turned it off entirely. Listening to her rant was typically way more amusing than anything he could find on the television. Especially since the more she ranted the more British she sounded. He turned around on the couch so he could watch as well as listen to her. She kept up a running commentary, typically things everyone had always complained about until she started talking about her P.E. class. The reactions of other people sometimes really pissed him off. However, John knew she would be even more upset if he was to interfere. Though he could probably walk her to class, it would either put a scare into the preppy bitches or make them worse and he didn't want to make things worse. Only time would tell what needed to happen.

There days gained a kind of gentle routine; School, work, dinner, homework, and then bed. For at least the first few months - it was right around the end of October the house of cards started to fall.

Pretty please it review and tell me what you think... it helps the muses speak to me.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the delay in updating: life and grading seriously cut into my time for writing fiction. I hope you like this next installment - I promise to try updating more rapidly once classes are over and my life settles some.

Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own Bender - or anything else John Hughes came up with... the rest is from my own imagination.

Their days gained a kind of gentle routine; School, work, dinner, homework, and then bed. They got along so well that both were waiting for the other shoe to drop. The days grew colder, and while Bender was never exactly a star pupil he was determined to pass the damn classes he had to get out of there all proper like so he could show up all the fuckers who didn't believe in him.

Laura, on the other hand, was an excellent pupil, but as the days grew colder her back began to hurt more and more. She did her best to hide it from John and Lorraine and was, to some degree, successful. Until one night in mid December, they were a few days from winter break and Laura was leaning very heavily on her cane as she limped across the field towards John and their regular meeting place. He watched her carefully and noted the pinched look on her face and the stiff way she was moving. Instead of waiting for her to reach him he walked to her and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"John, what are you doing?" Laura asked, though he did provide some relief her lower back was throbbing still.

"What do you think? I ain't stupid and I can see that you are in pain – what's up? And don't you dare say nothing cause I know it's a lie."

Laura shook her head, "My back hurts babe, I'm sure it's just the weather and once I'm adjusted to the cold it will be better."

John sighed, "Babe, if I am correct, and I am pretty sure I am it's been getting worse, not better. Why don't you make an appointment to see your doc? We got insurance and shit."

Laura leaned into him, "fine, I'll call tomorrow or something."

John shook his head, "You'll call from home or work today – cause I know you and you won't do it unless I make you." Laura stuck out her tongue at him, he told her he'd tell Lorraine if she didn't do it. That was a standard threat between the two of them. Laura rolled her eyes, "fine, fine I'll do it today."

Laura made her appointment though it wasn't until after school let out and the pain wasn't getting any better. John did his best to make things as easy as he could, but he couldn't help thinking something else was going on.

They both finished school without the fanfare of a graduation, though Laura threw a party for John to commemorate the occasion. During the day friends from work stopped by and in the evening a bunch of friends. John was given several bags of weed and the beer was flowing; however by 11:30 Laura was falling asleep on the couch though the music shouldn't have let her do that. The neighbors all knew what was going on so they wouldn't complain, Laura made sure of it. They all really liked John and Laura and even stopped by with cards during the day.

By 11:30, John was a little drunk and a lot stoned, but neither stopped him from noticing his drooping lady. He looked around the apartment and realized there were no girls left in the house besides the one who lived there. Not far from where she was falling asleep there were two guys arm wrestling, and there were guys playing their Atari, and one or two left in the kitchen. He didn't want to end the party, but she hadn't been feeling good so he had a decision to make. He made his way over to Laura and sat on the arm of the couch next to her.

"Hey beautiful, if I tuck you in will the party keep you awake?"John asked as he brushed her hair away from her face.

Laura laughed a little, "not sure the party is keeping me awake and I'm in the middle of it. Sorry, I'm not much fun." John rolled his eyes, stood up and put his hands down to her. She placed her hands in his and let him help her up; even so she failed to hold back a yelp that caused every guy in the apartment to look their way. Laura blushed, hid her face against John, and asked him to apologize for her. He shook his head and told the guys he'd be right back. He walked Laura into the bedroom and closed the door. "Babe, I would have said this out there, but you wouldn't have heard me. You have nothing to apologize for. You did all kinds of cleaning and shit you probably shouldn't have been doing this morning and were an excellent hostess all day. Are you sure you don't mind the guys hanging out?"

Laura laid down on the bed, fully dressed, kicked off her shoes and said, "lover you can have anyone you want here, it's your home too. I'm just sorry I can't be more festive this evening." John stretched out on top of her and said, "in the morning we can be festive." Laura laughed, "You do mean early afternoon, right? I will lay bets I could ride you in the morning and you would not wake." He kissed her nose, "I doubt I could sleep through that, but I am game to try it if you want." He leered down at her before kissing her lips gently and getting up, "I don't want to leave those hoodlums out there too long without one of us." Laura waved at him, "I think I'm gonna sleep." She said tiredly. Laura could not figure out why she was just so bloody exhausted all the time.

The party was on Saturday night so they both had the next day off. When John climbed out of bed at around 2 pm Laura had already cleaned the house and was sound asleep again on the couch with a book in her hand. John wandered out and noticed that there was still hot coffee; he gave thanks that his girl looked after him. He poured himself coffee, took a deep drink, wandered over to Laura and took the book out of her hand. It was some fiction book that he set on the table. He sat down and turned the tv on softly and lit a smoke.

Sometime later Laura opened her eyes and smiled up at John. She stretched a little and said, "Hi there handsome, have you been awake long?" John shrugged, "I'm really a little too hung over to know… uhm, two cups of coffee. That's how long I've been up." Laura chuckled and started to get up. John noticed her wince and asked, "so when do you see a doc about that? It's still getting worse isn't it?" Laura mumbled something about his hangover and perception, "I see the doctor next week John. My back has always given me fits and starts this will go away just like any other time, I'm sure of it."

John arched a brow at her, "well thanks for fucking humoring me then, I like to know my girl is ok. Sue me."

Laura slid herself up the couch and put a bunch of pillows behind her rather than getting up, "I'd rather just kiss you, and since I know how broke you are suing you would be pointless." He laughed, moved to sit next to her and kissed her nose. She giggled and gave him a thorough kiss before pulling him down over her and giving him her own special kind of gift.

They started working full time the following day, which both believed would help their finances immensely. Not that they had a very hard time with them, but both John and Laura were aware that there were always more bills coming in. Lorraine and Bob had grown to love the two kids as if they were their own. Lorraine had been teaching Laura to drive, something John laughed about, yet Bob saw the concern for Laura beneath the laughter.

On Wednesday, Lorraine offered to drive Laura to the doctor's office. Laura tried to say no, but Lorraine would have none of it. She said she'd even wait in the car, something Laura would have none of. So it was that the two ladies were waiting at the doctor's office about an hour later. Laura was having a particularly bad day, her leg hurt, but not nearly as much as her lower back. The constant ache had been growing; however, after standing on the scale she decided it must be the additional weight she'd gained, it was a full stone. Laura thought about it, and realized none of her pants had been fitting correctly. That said, she wasn't sure where the weight was going because she didn't feel like she'd gained a pound let alone a stone.

The doctors gave her a thorough check up, including samples of blood and urine – Laura was irritated by the requirement though she tried not to show it. She liked the doctor she'd been seeing for the last few months, and when she came in with a file after about 20 minutes Laura was eager to hear if there was any additional problem with her back or if it was just normal weather related pain. "So, what's the verdict – am I predicting the weather with my body?" she tried to joke. The doctor sat down and said, "Nope, that's not the issue at all. You've been taking birth control regularly right?" Confused, Laura nodded, not sure where this conversation was going. The doctor continued, "well you have to stop immediately."

Further confused, Laura asked, "why?" The doctor chuckled; "I am going to recommend a good OB/GYN and some prenatal vitamins for you. I also am going to prescribe a light work schedule – no more long days on your feet. You are pregnant, I will need to do an ultrasound to find out exactly how far along you are, but I'd guess about 6-8 weeks." Laura was stunned, "but I'm on birth control, and we typically use condoms too…"

Her doctor shook her head, "Nothing is 100%, and apparently this child wanted to be born if you were taking all the proper precautions. Sometimes we are given unexpected gifts. Merry Christmas, Laura." Laura wasn't sure this was a gift at all - she was worried about how her body and how John would take the unexpected news. As she walked out of the office Lorraine stood up. "Everything alright sweetie? You look like you saw a ghost." Laura nodded absentmindedly, "yeah, uh, things are fine, I just need to talk to John. I'll explain more tomorrow, OK?" Lorraine nodded, "I'll get the car while you check out." Laura checked out of the doctor's office with her handful of prescriptions, paperwork, and recommended doctors. Her head was still reeling from finding out she was with child. Lorraine had parked around the back of the building and waited for the car to warm up, hoping it took Laura a few minutes inside.

As she walked out of the building Laura was blindsided by a punch. She fell to the ground and looked up to see Mike, looking filthy, skinny, and stoned. "Stupid little bitch, did you think I wouldn't find you?" He grabbed her by her hair, pulled her up and punched her again, causing her to scream in pain as she felt something in her face crack. She shoved her cane into his middle and he stumbled backwards cussing and screaming at her. He grabbed her hair again and screamed that she was coming with him, he wasn't going to be cheated out of taxes just because she ran away. Laura screamed as loud as she could; Mike wanted her to stop her screeching so he let go of her hair to grab her around the throat. Laura curled into a ball so he couldn't reach anything but her hair again. He started to drag her by her hair across the parking lot when several people came out of the office and Lorraine came around the corner in her car.

Mike was yelling nonsense about how she was a worthless fucking brat and deserved any beating he could give to her for trying to cheat him out of money. Lorraine threw the car into park and ran toward the man dragging Laura, who was bouncing on her tailbone and had blood dripping down her face. A couple of nurses also came running and then a police car pulled into the parking lot. The ladies in the office called 911 when they heard the scream. Mike picked up and then dropped the girl in his rush to get away from the cops. Luckily it was officer Braden who got out of the car in a rush.

Suddenly Laura was surrounded by people and Mike was being shoved on the truck of a car. She was disoriented and in shock, she didn't understand all the people around her, and she was beginning to tremble. Braden hollered for his new partner to keep Mike under control while he helped the girl. Jim walked over and picked Laura up and walked her back into the doctor's office; Lorraine followed. Laura started silently crying and she was still trembling. She was taken back to a room and a cover was wrapped around her. Lorraine was smoothing her hair and whispering nonsense to try and calm her. Lorraine looked up at the police officer. "Can you stay with her while I make a phone call?"

Jim nodded, "Of course. Eventually I will have to talk to her about the man outside, but now is not the time." Lorraine thanked him and hurried out to the office. "Can I please use your phone?" The nurses who had seen what happened were very helpful, she dialed the shop, Bob, who was watching the office while she was gone answered. "Bob's repair can I help you?"

Lorraine let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she heard her husband's voice. "Bobby, I am at the doctor's office on second street, I need John down here now. Laura's father appeared and beat her up, she needs him." Bob said he'd take care of it. He walked into the main shop and hollered, "Tony, I need you to watch the office for a bit. Bender, come with me." John rolled out from under a car, "can I finish this?" Bob shook his head, "we have to go now, don't even bother washing up." This both surprised and worried Bender, but he followed his boss to Bob's truck. Bob said nothing till they were driving. "Ok son, I am gonna tell you what's going on, as far as I know, but I think you want a cigarette first." John lit a smoke and turned towards the man who was fast becoming the father figure he'd never had. "Alright, what the fuck?"

Bob took a deep breath as he turned onto second street, "Apparently Laura's father showed up at the doctor's office." Bob watched the blood drain from John's face, "is she alright?" Bob shrugged, "I don't know any of the details, but I think he hurt her." Having broken the speed limit the entire drive the men arrived at the office in ten minutes rather than the fifteen to twenty the drive normally took. John jumped out of the car before Bob had come to a complete stop. He ran into the office, "Where's Laura?" One of the nurses looked up, "and you are?" John was getting very pissed off, "I'm her fiancé, can I fucking see her now?" He was buzzed back and walked to the room where she was waiting for the results of her x-rays. The doctor had been hesitant to do the x-rays considering her early pregnancy but the damage to her body overruled that judgment when he consulted the other doctors in the office. Jim and Lorraine were talking softly when John walked in. He saw Laura lying beneath several blankets, shivering and crying.

John walked over and stroked her hair, she looked up and latched onto him, "god John I was so scared." He tried to pick her up, but she yelped. "fuck, what did I do baby?" Just then the doctor walked in. "If you tried to move her you probably agitated what appears to be a broken back or tailbone. I am just not willing to do an x-ray of her lower body right now. Laura your cheekbone is indeed broken, and I'd like to do an ultrasound to make sure there isn't any additional damage." She nodded, but then asked, "can John and I have a minute please?" All the adults in the room agreed and walked out of the room. "What the fuck baby, are you ok?"

Laura put her head on his chest, "please put your arms around me." He did as she asked propping himself up on the table, but trying to move her as little as possible." She stroked his chest and whispered, "I'm pregnant." Everything in John's world froze for an instant. "Did you just tell me you were pregnant? I thought you were on the pill." Tears started poured out of her eyes, "I am, or was, and we used other protection, I'm sorry, but um, we uh… I.. " John got it like a snap, she thought he was mad at her. He kissed the top of her head. "Laura, baby, I was just surprised you got nothing to be sorry for." She kept whispering apologies so he did what he always did when she didn't hear him, he kissed her. Looking into her eyes, "so uh, we're gonna have a baby? I don't quite know how to handle that info, but I ain't mad baby, I promise." She gripped his shirt and sobbed. He didn't know what else to do so he just held her and stroked her back and hair. "Laura, sweetheart, stop crying please, I don't know what to do."

She had stopped crying and was holding on to John's shirt in a white knuckled fist. He'd moved so she was laying against him rather than just the table, that way he could hold her better. The doctor, police officer, and Lorraine came back into the room. The doctor spoke first, "everything settled in here?" Laura nodded. John asked, "so what did that bastard do?"

The doctor looked at the two, obviously in love kids, and said, "well I think she has either a broken back or a broken tail bone. I can find out, but it will be painful. It's really the only way since I'm not willing to subject her to another x-ray, then we'll do the ultrasound. Ok?" He asked Laura if she could turn onto her side, and with the help of John and much whimpering Laura managed the move. The doctor put gentle pressure on each vertebra going down her back. When he got to the lumbar region he knew it would hurt her more, but they needed to know. He continued to put the gentle pressure on each vertebra and while she started crying she did not scream or yelp until he reached her first sacral vertebra – when he applied gentle pressure there was a give which should not have been there – it meant a far more dangerous break than he considered and grew more worried, but continued down the tailbone where there seemed to be at least one, if not two, more fractures. "Alright, let's do the ultra sound and then we'll talk – can you roll back over, I will put a pillow beneath you ok?" Laura managed to get into the position the doctor wanted but not without tears streaming down her face again. John wanted to punch the doctor however he realized it wouldn't do anyone any good.

Watching the ultrasound machine was like a miracle for John and Laura. They saw a tiny thing and heard a heartbeat. The baby seemed to be just fine. The doctor talked to them about the multiple fractures that he thought were there and told them that she was allowed nothing but rest for at least the next month. At that point they would take another look and in the meantime he was scheduling an appointment with an obstetrician he knew who did house calls. Laura was given a local anesthetic so she could get home. Over an hour later, John carried his girl out of the office, she was sound asleep in his arms and he was keeping a tight grip on his emotions. Lorraine and Bob, as well as officer Braden were in the waiting room. Everyone stood when he came out.

"I need to get her home and in bed, um whoever doesn't drive me there can follow and I'll talk to anyone who needs info there. The doc said she needed to be in bed as soon as possible. Lorraine said, "the caddy is the smoothest ride." John nodded, "it's also right by the door, isn't it?" He looked at Braden, "look you can follow me home if you promise not to lock me when we get there." Braden saluted with two fingers, "boy scouts honor, but I do need some info. I have a man locked up and I need to know the full story." John nodded and walked out followed by the others. He hoped like hell that nothing else would fuck up his already fucked up day.

Reviews are love... and keep the muse talking.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you for all the reviews and alerts. Sorry it's been so long, I will try to get the rest of the story ( a few more chapters) up in the next month, but bear with me if it isn't wrapped up till the end of summer. I am also working several other projects. This chapter moves the story forward a little and is required info for the upcoming chapters - I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bender or anything else from the original Breakfast Club.

X

John held Laura tightly during the ride home, and when they arrived he carried her through their apartment into the bedroom. He laid her down gently, kissed her forehead, and quietly left the room pulling the door partly shut so the noise wouldn't wake her. When he came out Bob was sitting on his couch drinking a beer, Lorraine was doing their dishes, and Officer Jim Braden was discussing the Bear's season.

John desperately wanted a joint, a beer, and a cigarette and then he was gonna fucking kill Laura's old man. Since he didn't think it would be appropriate to leave a cop at his house when he decided to kill Mike motherfucking Ashford he had to at least have a cigarette. He cracked a window then plopped into a chair and lit a cigarette. John raised his voice just a touch and called Lorraine over to the couch. "Stop doing the fuckin dishes, I'll get to'em later." Lorraine called back that she was nearly done he just needed to be patient for another minute.

Braden leaned forward onto his knees. "Can you tell me who that man was?"

John took a long drag off his smoke and replied, "Laura's father, he kicked her out last summer after she refused to fuck his meth-head buddies." Braden's eyes widened. "We got this place from Bob and Lorraine and we've been the managers here since uh like August. Right after the last time one of us ended up with broken fuckin bones. I want to kill that son of a bitch."

Jim looked around the place and realized it was a fairly nice apartment for a couple of kids just starting out. "Can I use your phone?" John nodded and pointed at the phone in the open window between the kitchen and dining room. Braden got up and went to use the phone. John got up, "I'll be right back." He checked on Laura who was still sleeping soundly, went to the bathroom and came back out. When he did, he saw Braden sitting again. He sat back down, "got everything squared away?"

Jim nodded, he had been thinking about the fact that he'd known John for around six years; he'd watched him grow from a bratty, punk kid into a reasonably respectable adult. He didn't look too closely at a few of the items on the tables, but overall John wasn't a troublemaker and he was trying to build a life for himself and his girl, who seemed to have more problems than he did.

Jim asked, "I gotta know, what's her old man gonna say?" John shrugged, "Probably that she ran away and who knows what else. Come on, did you see that guy? He looked even more strung out than the last time I saw him. She hates him. I…fuck it. Her old man was a prick who screamed at her and used her as a punching bag; hell, tried to rape her more than once."

Jim Braden sighed and ran his hand over his face and hair, "They've got him in lock up for assault and possession seems he had a couple of crack rocks on him. The possession charge alone is enough to keep him locked up for a little while. I need to know if she wants to press charges." John heard a quiet whimper, jumped out of his chair, and dashed to the bedroom in the middle of the officer talking. Jim smiled a little, "didn't know the kid could move that fast." The three adults quietly talked, Bob and Lorraine giving as much information as they could while singing the praises of both kids.

John came back out, pulled two chairs from the dining room and said, "Laura wants to come out and talk to you. I'm gonna lay her on the couch. Jim and Bob took the two chairs which were brought in, leaving the more comfortable chairs for John and Lorraine and the couch for Laura. "Lorraine, can you pad the couch with some of those covers and shit? I want this to be as easy as I can make it for her." Lorraine nodded, "of course sweetheart, of course."

John left the room and Lorraine laid blankets and quilts down till the couch looked like a nice bed. John came out carrying Laura who looked like she'd been crying again. He laid her gently on the couch and smoothed her hair. "What else do you need babe? I haven't gotten to supper yet, but I will soon." Laura reached up and stroked John's hair. "Just sit down love; I want to hold your hand while I talk." John sat himself down on the floor in front of the couch at roughly Laura's hip so she could either stroke his hair, which she liked to do, or hold his hand.

When she was settled she looked at the three adults in the room, "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this Lorraine." John stroked her side and her belly and opened his mouth but Lorraine was faster, "You didn't drag me into anything, and you've no need to apologize so just stop right there." John smirked at Laura then at Lorraine.

Laura sighed again, "alright, um first, Officer Braden I am guessing you have questions for me." He nodded, "I hate to ask this, but how old are you sweetie?" Laura closed her eyes afraid it might come to this, "I am seventeen, Sir. I've been petitioning the courts for emancipation if that matters at all." He looked up from his pad, "You can call me Jim; I am sitting in your living room." John choked, "does that mean I can have a beer?" Jim shrugged, "you can call me Jim too, Bender; I realized I've known you for almost 6 years now and since you are 18 go for it." John jumped up and grabbed himself a beer and got a second one for Bob. He cracked it open and took a deep drink. He sat back down on the floor at Laura's side. Laura nudged him and he whispered, "now?" Laura nodded; John cleared his throat, "Jim we need to take care of a little family business so hold your questions for just a minute. Bob, Lorraine, uh… You are going to be grandparents." There was a whoop and hug for John from Bob, a handshake from Jim, and a hug from Lorraine. At that moment however, it clicked in Lorraine's mind that Laura's father had hurt a pregnant woman. "Officer Braden, excuse me Jim, does it matter that she's pregnant and he did all this damage?"

Jim shook his head, "I really don't know yet. I won't know much more before tomorrow morning. I will keep you apprised. I only have a few more questions, first do you want to press charges?" Jim asked Laura. She nodded, "could I take out one of those things that makes people stay away from you too?" She squeezed John hand, "really, I really don't want him near me. I just…" Laura started crying again and John just held her gently. Jim explained that he understood – she wanted a restraining order. He said his goodbyes, commented that he'd be in touch, and to take care of each other, or "more to the point Bender keep looking after your girl." He winked and left the apartment.

Lorraine stood up and wandered into their kitchen. John asked, "What are you doing Lori?" Both John and Laura had taken to calling her Lori since Mom wasn't a name that brought pleasant memories to either of them and she was like the mother they had each always wanted. "I'm figuring out what you have to eat, cause I'm hungry which means I know you and Bobby are too. Laura honey, are you up to eating?" Laura nodded and winced a little.

Laura was stroking John's hair, a habit she had developed when he was laid up. He'd rest his head in her lap and she'd stroke his hair. For some reason it calmed her down. John didn't mind it, it felt relaxing and loving. No one had really ever touched him like that, sure girls loved to play with his hair, but they hadn't ever stroked it like Laura did. "I know that I bitch about my back all the time, but damn I forgot how it makes everything else hurt. I'm starving, but a little afraid to eat cause I'm queasy too." John grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles, "baby you have never bitched constantly – and I'd say you have the right to bitch for the next several months."

Lorraine closed the cupboard, opened and closed the fridge and freezer. "Alright, there are plenty of fixings for food, but I don't feel like cooking and I bet no one else does either. How's pizza sound?" Everyone agreed that was the best plan. It was ordered and Bob went to pick it up, Lori was watching television, and Laura was dozing on the couch. John was standing in the kitchen trying to control his temper now that there weren't people around he had to put on a mask for. He leaned his head against the cool window hoping like hell to cool his jets before Bob got back. John's hand curled into a fist and he swung but didn't connect with anything because he knew it'd be stupid to break his hand cause he wanted to kill Ashford. Then there was that other thing, Christ on a motherfucking crutch, he had no idea what it meant to be a father, but he wouldn't leave Laura like that. He had to be responsible. He sunk into a crouch in his kitchen and worked to stop what seemed like eminent hyperventilation. Holy fuck, he was gonna be a dad.

Had he not been on the balls of his feet he would have been in a fetal position. He clenched and unclenched his fists and wanted to scream at the world. What the hell had he or Laura ever done to deserve shit like this? He muttered fuck a lot beneath his breath and then held it so he could listen and make sure Laura didn't need him. God damn he wanted to smoke a bowl, but he wasn't sure what Lori would say about it. All of a sudden there was a hand on his back. He jumped up and back ready to take out whatever needed taking out. What he found was Lori standing there with a worried look on her face. In her hand, she held one of his pipes packed full and a lighter. "I didn't mean to startle you John, but I kinda thought you might want this. Bobby's not a big fan, but I am an occasional smoker so I ain't a hypocrite. After the day you've had I thought it might help take the edge off, well you know…" John threw his arms around her and hugged her. "How'd you get so smart?" He took a deep toke and put his head against the cold window. "I gotta know Lori, why is the world so cruel? I mean just when everything is going smooth there's that one, two mothafuckin punch. Laura ain't never been anything but incredible; I'm nobody's fucking prince charming, but seriously? I don't want to leave her here alone and I can't afford to take all that time off work. Hell I don't know what to do. All I wanted to do was protect her and what happened I fucked her life up more. She didn't need a baby right now, but…" Lorraine put her hand over his mouth. "Don't you dare apologize for loving that girl. You are the best thing to ever happen to her and she has told me that more than once. She loves you to bits and pieces and would have hated it if you tried to keep your hands to yourself or leave her to her miserable excuse for a father. A baby is a miracle, no two ways about it, but if her health is going to be compromised, maybe you need to consider other options."

John looked at her with wild eyes, "I don't…I can't make that kind of fucking decision Lori! What the fuck? Fuck me… I gotta talk to Laura and a doc and shit. I may fucking kill her god damned father though. If you can stop me from doing that …fuck, I don't know." He squatted back down to the ground, finished the bowl, and wrapped his arms up around his head, desperately trying to stop the fucking voices in his head telling him this was his entire fault. He wrapped his arms around his head and growled though he didn't realize it was aloud. Suddenly there was a gentle hand on his head running long fingernails through his hair, he was gonna move then he heard Lorraine's voice. "Oh sweet boy, you didn't do anything wrong by lovin that girl. It certainly isn't your fault her life was all broken. You stop beatin yourself up about it, hear me John?" She stepped to his side and pulled him against her so she was hugging him. He didn't know what to do with that so he stilled, but it felt so good, he'd never had a mother figure who gave a shit about him. "Another thing sweetie, I don't know what you are hearing in your head, but you are the best thing ever to happen to our shop and I'm not yanking your chain. I know you are adored by a beautiful young woman not to mention me and Bobby. Get me? So, I'm going to the other room, you might want to pull yourself together cause Bob is going to be back any minute and I know you need to pull your tough guy crap back on for him. Just like he does for you." She kissed him on top of the head and walked away.

John pulled himself up, and leaned against the window for a minute when he heard the door open. He didn't know what to do with all the stuff Lori said to him, but he was gonna be a damn better host than he'd grown up with. With a deep breath he steadied himself and walked back into the living room with plates and napkins, a couple of beers for him and Bob, and Soda pop for the girls. He was impressed with himself that he could get it all out in one trip. He sat down on the floor next to Laura and rubbed her belly gently. "Hey baby, you need to wake up and eat something." She moaned and whimpered, he felt her muscles tense and she moaned again. Worried, John turned fully to her, "Laura sweetheart, what is it?" Tears began pouring from her eyes, "It hurts John, it hurts so bad I don't know what to do. I can't eat cause I want to throw up now and I don't think I can do that..." Her eyes widened and her breathing grew erratic, John kissed her forehead and leaned his against it, "Babe you gotta calm down, I know it hurts and I will do what I can to fix it but you gotta breath for me… come on. In and out," John got Laura calm enough that her breathing returned to normal. He fell back to his knees and took a deep breath. He looked over at Bob whose eyes were wide and he noticed Lori was standing with the phone in her hand, "what?" Bob shook his head, "damn kid, you're good in an emergency. Lori was gonna call 911 but you just took matters into your own hands. Nice." John shook his head, "Just doing what needs done, ain't never called 911 before can't say I see a reason to now, but well I hope you don't fire my ass. I'm gonna smoke a bowl with my girl here so she can relax a little."

Bob shrugged, "I'm not a fan, but am in your home and well you seem to know what Laura needs." He moved the pizza to the kitchen, Lorraine followed leaving John alone with Laura. John packed a bowl took a deep drag, and leaned up to shotgun it into Laura's mouth. They finished the bowl that way, John giving it to Laura so she didn't have to sit up or even move really. He finished by giving her the most loving, gentle kiss he was capable of giving. He leaned his forehead against hers, "any better?" She sleepily nodded and whispered, "thank you." John sat back and quirked an eyebrow at her, "you gonna try eating for me?" she shook her head, "not tonight, I just can't, can you get me back to bed and help me undress? I just want to try sleeping while I can. The pain is better so I wanna sleep." John said nothing, he just scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, helped her undress and got her situated in bed. As he was moving to leave she grabbed his hand, "John?" He turned back and waited till she spoke again, "I love you John and…and I know it's not the right time or anything but…I…I want this baby. I hope that's ok." There were tears in her eyes again. John sighed and kissed her forehead. "Anything you want sweetheart; I'm a little freaked out, and I don't know that I'll make a prize father but I guess I'll try." He ran his hand through his hair. "Sleep Laura, we've got time to talk about all this…this…" he spread his hands hoping she could figure out what he meant. Laura nodded and closed her eyes.

xx

Across town Jim Braden walked into the precinct to get some paperwork done before he could head home. He checked with a couple of other cops and heard that Mike Ashford had been a giant pain in the ass since he'd arrived, so much so there were guys taking bets on who was gonna loose it and beat the shit out of him first. Braden walked down to the cells to see what the problem was, and it was apparent before he got close. Ashford had pissed all over the cell and was sitting at the bars screaming about how he'd been wronged by the fucking druggie kid who'd kidnapped his daughter, but before long he'd start ranting about the kid calling her every name in the book and talking about sick shit he'd done to her or was planning. Braden couldn't get close to the cell or he'd lose his bet and beat the shit out of the guy himself and he wasn't even the most short tempered of the guys on the force. Before the night was out he apparently started having withdrawal symptoms from something he'd been on. They hadn't done a drug test of any kind though it had been obvious he'd been on something and crack rocks he'd had in his pocket were the suspected culprit. It hadn't made him any more cooperative or easier to deal with, but most of the guys decided it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

When Jim arrived at work the next afternoon he was called into the captain's office. He knocked on Captain Anson's door, "You wanted to see me sir?" Anson nodded and waved him in, "shut the door please Braden." Jim shut the door and sat down. The precinct captain didn't have the time, luxury, or desire to beat around the bush so he started, "correct me if I am wrong, but you booked that sick son-of-a-bitch Ashford, right?" Braden nodded. "I haven't gotten your full report yet, so what was the situation?"

Jim took a deep breath, "I didn't finish the report because I was following up till pretty late sir." The captain waved his hand motioning that it was no problem he just wanted the run down so Jim began again. "I got the call from the clinic off second street, there was an assault happening on property – I was right near there so I pulled in before anyone had gotten to Ashford. Mike was riding with me and well sir, it was fucked up, he was dragging a young woman across the parking lot, bouncing her on the pavement like she wasn't nothing. He had her by the hair and well she was already screaming and bloody. He saw us, dropped the girl and started running. Mike caught and cuffed him while I helped the nurses get the girl back inside the clinic. That's what I arrived to anyhow. I did get some additional information though." Captain Anson arched a brow, so Jim took a deep breath and continued, "The girl left home last summer after her father beat and attempted to rape her. Since then, she's been living with her boyfriend, both of the kids graduated high school this past December, have decent jobs, and are managing the apartment they live in." The captain's eyebrows went even higher, "who are these pillars of society?" Braden rubbed his forehead, "well the kid is..um.. John Bender, and the girl's name is Laura Ashford. Apparently, the son of a bitch broke her back and uh well she's pregnant."

Anson rubbed his eyes, "you are telling me someone in this town with the last name of Bender has a job and is being an actual productive member of society rather than a problem?" Braden sighed, "Look cap, I've watched that kid get the shit end of the stick since I met him like 6 years ago. I assumed he'd be as big a pain in the ass or worse than his old man, but it turns out the kid is really trying and it's an uphill battle. Now I'm not saying that we won't ever catch the kid doing something illegal and or stupid but I really have seen him trying sir. Besides, he's apparently the mechanic that fixed your old mustang up." Braden grinned. The captain's wife had his old car restored at Bob's auto and Bender had done all the work. Anson's eyebrows rose into his hairline – "Bender? Really? Damn. Guess you were correct to call Vernon out for busting that kid's chops back when we played poker. Anyway please tell me the girl is of age." Braden shook his head, "she's 17, but Bender's only 18 and well she's put out a petition for emancipation if we can get the record of that paper work it would make things a little smoother. The girl wants to press charges but there's no way she can come down to the precinct; I'm pretty sure she can't walk."

Anson thanked Braden and thought about what he was going to do. He wanted the bastard out of his jail because one of his cops was gonna kill the son of a bitch if he kept up the way he had in the last 24 hours. Maybe he could get Braden to do the foot work getting background on the girl, perhaps they could in some way actually protect the citizens of Shermer rather than having to fix this shit afterwards.


End file.
